Photo : YONHAP News
South Korea will launch its third military spy satellite in December from the United States.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Wednesday that it plans to launch the satellite in the third or fourth week of December, adding that it is discussing the schedule with SpaceX, an American spacecraft manufacturer.
The satellite, which will carry out surveillance on North Korea, will be launched on a SpaceX rocket from a space center in the U.S.
South Korea’s first and second spy satellites were launched in the United States in December last year and April this year.
They successfully entered orbit and communicated with ground stations after separating from the rocket.
The third satellite will be equipped with synthetic aperture radars that capture data using microwaves and are capable of collecting data regardless of weather conditions.
The South Korean military plans to launch five spy satellites by next year and establish an independent military spy satellite network to better monitor North Korea.