The second homegrown spy satellite launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday ( Apr 8 ), according to South Korea’s defense ministry, had successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The release, which comes after Seoul’s first detective telescope was put into orbit from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base in December, was livestreamed on social media platforms X and YouTube.
The department said in a statement that the Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 23 :17 GMT on Sunday, and the telescope was able to leave the launch vehicle 45 days later and set foot in orbit.
About two days and forty minutes after the launch, the department added, it had successfully communicated with a surface station.
Reconnaissance satellite launches follow a North Korean-led area competition.
Pyongyang claimed in November last year that it used its personal Chollima-1 start vehicle to house the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite in trajectory after two previous attempts ended in jet accidents.
In 2024, North Korea has earlier pledged to build three additional spy satellites.
Shin Won-sik, the North Korean defense minister, reported to reporters that North Korea might build a second detective satellite as soon as mid-April.
Shin’s opinion was based on the government’s study of North Korea’s associated activities, North Korean military government spokesman Jeon Ha- gyu told a briefing.
Due to how it processes data, Seoul’s second spy satellite has a synthetic aperture radar ( SAR ) that can produce images regardless of the weather.