On May 25, South Korea’s KSLV-2 launched seven satellites, including one equipped with synthetic aperture radar, into sun-synchronous orbit, but the eighth cube satellite is believed not to be properly deployed.

The rocket was launched from the Naro Space Center at 05:24 EDT on schedule. In the live broadcast, the 47.2-metre-long rocket, decorated with the South Korean flag, is seen taking off with bright yellow flames emanating from its engines.

This was the third launch of the three-stage kerosene and liquid oxygen rocket after its partially successful launch in October 2021. The second launch in June 2022 successfully launched a mock payload weighing 1.3 tons and a test satellite weighing 162 kilograms into low Earth orbit.

Science Minister Lee Jong-ho described the launch as a “success” at a televised press conference about 90 minutes after the launch. “It will take some time to find out what it is,” he said with Cubesat. The main payload, called NEXTSat-2, is exchanging signals with a ground station in Antarctica, and six others are expected to do the same in the coming hours, the minister said.

“After the success of the second launch last year, we verified the characteristics and reliability of the missile,” said the minister.

The presidential office said that Chairman Yoon Suk-yeol hailed the launch as an “important milestone” that saw South Korea become a major space power.

Powered by a cluster of four KRE-075 engines, the first-stage booster departed about two minutes after launch. According to the science ministry, the payload detached after 109 seconds, followed by the second stage of the single-engine KRE-075 booster 38 seconds later. The third stage, powered by the KRE-007 engine, placed the payload into orbit 550 kilometers above Earth and began deploying the satellites about 13 minutes after takeoff.

The primary payload was NEXTSat-2, a 180-kilogram technology demonstration satellite developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). It includes a number of science payloads, including a synthetic aperture radar developed by KAIST that can produce images with a resolution of five meters and a bandwidth of 40 kilometers.

Six small satellites have been successfully deployed: JLC-101-v1-2, a four kilogram demo cube satellite for Earth observation technology; Lumir-T1, a 10-kilogram cubed satellite for monitoring cosmic radiation; KSAT3U, six kilogram cubic satellite for ground observation and weather monitoring; and three 6U cube satellites for the SNIPE constellation developed by the Korea Institute of Astronomy and Space Sciences. The troubled CubeSat is the fourth satellite in this constellation designed to create an orbit to detect temporal and spatial variations of small-scale plasma structures in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. It is not yet known whether the problem will affect the operation of the constellation.

The launch was originally scheduled for May 24, but was delayed one day due to a technical glitch. South Korea plans to carry out three more KSLV-2 launches by 2027 to increase the technical reliability of the rocket.

Meanwhile, South Korea is developing a next-generation KSLV-3 launch vehicle. A two-stage vehicle powered by kerosene and liquid oxygen is expected to hit the market in 2030. Its first stage will feature a group of five 100-tonne engines with a multi-stage internal combustion cycle, and the upper stage will feature two 10-tonne engines. engines with a multi-stage combustion cycle. The two engines and rocket hardware will be developed by the state-owned Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in collaboration with an industry partner to be selected by September.

KSLV-3 will be able to carry payloads of up to 10 tons to low Earth orbit; 7 tons per sun-synchronous orbit; 3.7 tonnes per fixed transit orbit; and 1.8 tons per lunar orbit. South Korea plans to launch a domestically developed robotic lunar rover on KSLV-3 by 2032.