SEOUL – South Korea launched its second domestically made spy satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the US, enabling it to keep closer tabs on threats from the likes of nuclear-armed North Korea.
The satellite was launched from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US, on April 7 and was placed into orbit an hour later.
It is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, meaning it can use radar waves to produce ultra-high resolution images of objects on the ground, regardless of cloud cover or weather.
“Our second military surveillance satellite successfully communicated with overseas ground stations at around 10.57am,” South Korea’s Defence Ministry said in a text message to reporters.
“Our independent intelligence monitoring, surveillance capability has been once again strengthened through the successful launch of the military’s first SAR satellite.”
South Korea has traditionally relied on the US for space-based intelligence, but is now seeking to supplement that by stepping up its own reconnaissance capabilities with a series of launches aimed at putting five spy satellites in orbit by 2025.
The spy probes are part of a broader effort to develop South Korea’s space programme, including the launch in May 2023 of a Nuri rocket that transported eight satellites into orbit.
In December, a SpaceX rocket placed South Korea’s first home-grown reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
North Korea, which has a tendency to try to upstage its neighbour when it comes to space launches, fired off a rocket in late November that put its first spy satellite into orbit – after failing twice earlier in 2023 to do so.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime also appears to be readying its space launch facility for another mission, the 38 North specialist website reported.
South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters on April 8 that North Korea could launch its next spy satellite as early as mid-April.
While officials in Seoul believe a North Korean spy satellite would be rudimentary at best, it could help Pyongyang refine its targeting as it rolls out new missiles designed to strike South Korea and Japan, which host the bulk of the US’ military personnel in the region. BLOOMBERG
