[News Today] Korean satellite launched after 4-yr delay

[LEAD]

Korea successfully launched its next-generation mid-sized satellite No. 2. The launch comes four years after delays caused by the war.

The satellite will be used for land observation, as well as monitoring disasters such as wildfires and floods.

[REPORT]

As the countdown ended, huge flames are burning at the tail of a projectile.

At 3:59 p.m., Sunday, Korea standard time.

Korea's next-generation mid-sized satellite No.2 aboard SpaceX' Falcon 9 rocket was launched into space.

About 75 minutes after takeoff, it communicated with a ground station in Norway and successfully entered orbit.

As the first satellite developed by a Korean private company, its key mission is the precise observation of the Earth.

It will also help make maps and devise urban development plans as well as looking out for disasters like wildfires and flooding.

It had been originally scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the first half of 2022 but the deployment was delayed in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Its launch delayed once again after that causing a 4-year delay.

The No.2 will be operated along with the No.1 satellite launched in 2021.

Kim Jin-hee / Korea AeroSpace Administration

With two satellite in operation, revisit cycles will be shortened and 3D images will be produced more quickly.

Following a four-month initial trial operation, it will take on full-scale missions starting from the second half of this year.