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South Korea successfully launches second military spy satellite amid North Korea's plans to roll out multiple ones
The defense ministry of South Korea announced that the nation's second-generation surveillance satellite was successfully launched from the JFK Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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South Korea's Defense ministry said a spy satellite had successfully been launched and entered orbit
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It was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from JFK Space Center in Florida, United States
South Korea successfully launched its second military reconnaissance satellite several days after North Korea reaffirmed its goal to launch many spy satellites this year. The satellite was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, and it entered orbit, according to the National Ministry of Defense of South Korea.
In a statement, the military in Seoul claimed that the successful launch had "further strengthened" its "independent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities." "We'll launch more satellites without a hitch in the future," it added.
The satellite successfully entered orbit
According to the statement, the Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 23:17 GMT, and 45 minutes later, the satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle and entered its intended orbit. About two hours and forty minutes after launch, it successfully communicated with a ground station, the government said.
South Korea is in a race with North Korea
While there is growing tension on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea is racing North Korea to increase the number of military spy satellites it can deploy by 2025. In November of last year, Pyongyang launched Malligyong-1, its first spy satellite, on its third attempt, while South Korea launched its satellite the following month.
Since then, North Korea has claimed that its satellite has transmitted images of significant US locations, such as the Pentagon and the White House, but it has not made any of the images public. North Korea's National Aerospace Technology Administration vice general director, Pak Kyong Su, stated on March 31 that the nation planned to launch many more reconnaissance satellites this year. As previously stated, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to launch three more military spy satellites into orbit by the year 2024.
In honor of state founder Kim Il Sung's birthday on April 15, South Korea's Shin Wonsik, the minister of defense, announced on Monday that the first of such launches might happen as early as next week. The Day of the Sun is the name of the holiday, which is typically marked with mass ceremonies and military parades.
Because North Korea uses ballistic missile technology that is prohibited, its satellite launches are viewed as a breach of the sanctions imposed by the UN on Pyongyang due to its nuclear weapons program.
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