SpaceX launches South Korea's 5th spy satellite

ISTANBUL

SpaceX on Sunday successfully launched South Korea's fifth homegrown military spy satellite from a US space base in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.

The Falcon 9 successfully launched as scheduled at 1.09 am Sunday (0609GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and placed the reconnaissance satellite into orbit about 14 minutes after liftoff, the ministry said.

“On board this mission are 18 payloads for KOREA ADD, Exolaunch, Fergani, Tomorrow Companies Inc., Starcloud, and Vast,” SpaceX said on US social media company X, both companies owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is the fifth and final military satellite to be launched as part of the nation's plan to deploy five reconnaissance satellites by the end of this year.

This move aims to enhance monitoring of North Korea and reduce dependence on US satellite imagery, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.

"Operating a total of five reconnaissance satellites in a cluster will enable a faster and more accurate detection of signs of North Korea's provocations," the ministry said in an earlier press release.

The ministry later confirmed that the satellite successfully established communication with a ground station approximately an hour after launch, signaling that the satellite is operating normally.

The first three satellites have been fully deployed, while the fourth is undergoing operational evaluation.

With five satellites in orbit, Seoul is expected to be able to monitor North Korea every two hours.

In December 2023, South Korea deployed its inaugural spy satellite, outfitted with electro-optical and infrared sensors for high-resolution imaging. Since then, it has launched three additional satellites, each equipped with SAR sensors, enabling data collection under all weather conditions.

North Korea has been stepping up efforts to develop space-based surveillance capabilities to monitor its adversaries.

In November 2023, the country successfully launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, and pledged to deploy three additional spy satellites in 2024.

However, it has not launched another satellite since a rocket carrying one exploded shortly after liftoff in May 2024.