S. Korea launches 4th spy satellite into orbit
South Korea's fourth homegrown military spy satellite, launched from a U.S. space base in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, successfully entered orbit, the defense ministry said Tuesday, Yonhap reports.
The spy satellite lifted off at 8:48 p.m. Monday (U.S. time) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as planned and placed the reconnaissance satellite into orbit at 9:03 p.m., 15 minutes after liftoff, according to the ministry.
"We plan to confirm whether the satellite operates normally through communication with a ground station," it added.
The synthetic aperture radar satellite is the fourth military satellite launched under South Korea's plan to deploy five spy satellites by the end of this year to better monitor North Korea and help reduce its reliance on U.S. satellite imagery.
South Korea launched its first spy satellite in December 2023, equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors capable of capturing detailed images. It launched two more last year with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors that collect data regardless of weather conditions.
South Korea aims to launch the fifth satellite, which will be equipped with SAR sensors, later this year. Once all five satellites are placed in orbit, the country is expected to be able to monitor North Korea every two hours.
It was reported earlier South Korea plans to launch its fourth military reconnaissance satellite from a U.S. space center later this month, defense sources said, as the country seeks to better monitor North Korea with independent surveillance capabilities.
