South Korea to launch first reconnaissance satellite with SpaceX

South Korea’s Ministry of Defense introduced early Saturday that it will launch its first navy reconnaissance satellite on a SpaceX rocket, because the peninsula’s area race intensifies after North Korea launched its first navy satellite into the sky final month. There is.

The Seoul reconnaissance satellite, carried by one in all Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, will launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 0319 Seoul Time (1819 GMT), a Pentagon official instructed reporters Friday. He instructed the group.

SpaceX launched a photograph of its Falcon 9 rocket mounted vertically on a launch pad with the phrase “KOREA” emblazoned on it.

If efficiently positioned into orbit, South Korea will purchase the first domestically produced reconnaissance satellite to monitor nuclear-armed North Korea.

The South Korean authorities plans to launch 4 extra reconnaissance satellites by the top of 2025 to strengthen its reconnaissance capabilities over North Korea.

According to Yonhap News, Seoul’s satellite orbits 400 to 600 kilometers above the Earth and might detect objects as massive as “30 centimeters” (11.8 inches).

Yonhap News reported {that a} Ministry of Defense official stated, “Considering decision and Earth statement capabilities, our nation’s satellite know-how ranks among the many prime 5 on the planet.”

The launch got here lower than two weeks after North Korea efficiently put its personal reconnaissance satellite into orbit.

“Up until now, South Korea has relied heavily on U.S.-operated reconnaissance satellites to monitor North Korea,” Choi Gi-il, a navy research professor at Sangshi University, instructed AFP.

He stated South Korea “successfully launched a military communications satellite, but it took much longer to launch a reconnaissance satellite because the technical hurdles were high.”

After North Korea efficiently launched its personal reconnaissance satellite, Choi stated, “The South Korean authorities wants to show that it might probably additionally accomplish this.”

Experts say placing a working reconnaissance satellite into orbit would enhance North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and supply crucial information in any navy battle.

Since final week’s launch, North Korea claims a brand new eye within the sky has supplied pictures of main navy installations within the United States and South Korea, in addition to pictures of Italy’s capital Rome.

The firm has not but revealed the satellite pictures it claims to have.

Last week’s Wanrikyo-1 launch was North Korea’s third try to put such a satellite into orbit, after two failures in May and August.

The South Korean authorities introduced that North Korea obtained technical help from Moscow in return for supplying North Korea with weapons to be used within the warfare with Russia and Ukraine.

Source: guardian.ng