South Korea’s 5th spy satellite successfully put into orbit

Seoul: South Korea’s fifth homegrown military spy satellite, launched from a US space base in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, successfully entered orbit, the Defence Ministry said Sunday, in a move expected to bolster its independent surveillance capabilities.

The Falcon 9 lifted off at 1.09 a.m. (US time) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as planned and placed the reconnaissance satellite into orbit about 14 minutes after liftoff, according to the ministry.

The ministry later confirmed that the satellite succeeded in communicating with a ground station about an hour after takeoff, in an indication of the satellite’s normal operation, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is the fifth and final military satellite launched under the country’s plan to deploy five spy satellites by the end of this year to better monitor North Korea and help reduce its reliance on US satellite imagery.

“With the latest launch, (the military) will be able to build independent capabilities to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance in all weather conditions across the Korean Peninsula by operating the satellites in a cluster,” the ministry said in a notice.

The first three satellites have been fully deployed, while the fourth satellite is undergoing operational evaluation.

Once all five satellites are fully deployed, the country is expected to be able to monitor North Korea every two hours.

“The Defence Ministry and the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration anticipate the successful launch of the fifth military reconnaissance satellite … will further strengthen the (military’s) Kill Chain capabilities,” the ministry said in a release, referring to one of the pillars of the country’s three-pronged deterrence structure.

Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the latest launch has “completed” the military’s independent capabilities to monitor the Korean Peninsula around-the-clock and pledged to further seek to advance its defence space capabilities.

South Korea launched its first spy satellite in December 2023, equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors capable of capturing detailed images. It has since launched three more satellites equipped with SAR sensors that collect data regardless of weather conditions.

North Korea has also been ramping up efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities against its enemies.

The North successfully launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, in November 2023 and had vowed to launch three more spy satellites in 2024.

But it has yet to launch another one since a rocket carrying a satellite exploded shortly following takeoff in May last year.

IANS