South Korea launches fifth reconnaissance satellite

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carrying 18 payloads including South Korea's fifth reconnaissance satellite launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX)

South Korea has launched its fifth and final reconnaissance satellite developed under the Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Project 425 programme.

The satellite was one of the 18 payloads carried into space by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on 2 November under the company's Bandwagon-4 rideshare mission.

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said this satellite is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload to capture high-resolution images of target areas in day and night and in all weather conditions.

The SAR payload for this satellite has been developed by Hanwha Systems. “With revisit times allowing four to six observations per day over the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions, the system [SAR payload] enables frequent re-imaging of specific areas,” the company said following the launch of the satellite.

The second, third, and fourth satellites launched under Project 425 are also equipped with Hanwha Systems' SAR payloads. The first satellite, launched in December 2023, is equipped with an electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) payload. The EO camera in this satellite uses visible light to take images, while the IR sensor generates image information by detecting IR rays and analysing IR energy to distinguish objects, making it possible to engage with targets even at night.

Hanwha Systems said the fifth satellite has more domestically developed components compared with the previous four satellites, the development of which required more “technical collaboration” with foreign companies. By way of example, Hanwha Systems said the “key electronics modules and datalink” of the fifth satellite's SAR payload were domestically developed. The SAR payload was also assembled, integrated, and tested in South Korea, the company added.