Santa barbara: A South Korean Earth-observation satellite has successfully entered low-Earth orbit following its launch from a U.S. space base in California, authorities said, in a move expected to help bolster Seoul's satellite development capabilities. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite lifted off at 12 a.m. Saturday (U.S. time) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the satellite, named Compact Advanced Satellite (CAS) 500-2, was separated from the launch vehicle about one hour after liftoff and was successfully put into orbit. The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) confirmed that the next-generation midsized satellite made its first communication with a ground station in Norway approximately 15 minutes following its separation from the rocket, indicating that the satellite was operating normally.
The satellite was developed for disaster monitoring and agricultural observation. Following a four-month initial operation period, the CAS500-2 will perform its mission together with the CAS500-1 starting in the second half of this year. Initially, the satellite was scheduled for launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2022, but the deployment was delayed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The 534-kilogram CAS500-2 is capable of high-resolution Earth observation, featuring a ground resolution of 0.5 meters for black-and-white images and 2 meters for color images. KASA highlighted that key components of the CAS500-2 platform and payload were developed using homegrown technology, which strengthens South Korea's space technology independence with this successful launch.
KASA Administrator Oh Tae-seog stated that the successful launch of CAS500-2 marked a major milestone in opening the private-led space era. He emphasized that it will enhance the country's satellite technology competitiveness by independently securing high-precision imagery capabilities.