If it is successful, South Korea will become the world’s seventh lunar explorer, and fourth in Asia, after China, Japan and India.
If it is successful, South Korea will become the world’s seventh lunar explorer, and fourth in Asia, after China, Japan and India.
South Korea is set to launch its first lunar orbiter on Friday as it doubles down on its space programs, aiming to land a probe on the Moon by 2030.
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Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri, meaning “enjoy the moon”, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral US Space Force Station in Florida at 8:08 a.m. Friday, South Korean time (2308 GMT on Thursday) will be launched. South Korea’s Ministry of Science said.
The launch was initially scheduled for last Wednesday, but was delayed due to an unspecified maintenance issue with the SpaceX rocket.
“Danuri has successfully completed all the preparations for about a month, and is currently being placed on the launch vehicle,” the ministry said in a statement.
If it is successful, South Korea will become the world’s seventh lunar explorer, and fourth in Asia, after China, Japan and India.
The launch comes as South Korea intensifies its space program, seeking to join nine countries working on the Artemis project with the aim of sending a probe to the Moon by 2030 and returning to the Moon by 2024.
In July, South Korea successfully conducted a second test launch of its domestically built Nuri rocket, and in March reported its first successful launch of a solid-fuel space-launch rocket as part of efforts to launch spy satellites.
The 678 kg (1,495 lb) Danuri will detach from the projectile approximately 40 minutes after launch, and it should begin communicating with a ground station within 60 minutes.
The ministry said it will enter lunar orbit in December before launching a one-year observation mission, which includes landing site exploration and testing space internet technology.
Space launches have long been a sensitive issue in the Korean peninsula, where North Korea faces international sanctions over its nuclear-armed ballistic missile program.
In March, North Korea called for expanding its space rocket launch site to advance its space ambitions after South Korea and the United States attempted to test a new intercontinental ballistic missile under the guise of launching a spacecraft. accused of.
South Korea maintains that its space program is for peaceful and scientific purposes and that any military use of technology, such as spy satellites, is to protect it.