South Korea launched its Earth-observation
satellite CAS500-2
¨
South Korea launched its
Earth-observation satellite CAS500-2 on 3 May 2026.
¨
Also known as
Next-Generation Medium Satellite No. 2 (Cha Middle 2).
¨
Launched aboard Falcon 9
from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
¨
Launch time: 3:59 p.m.
(Korea time) / midnight (California time).
¨
Mission overseen by Korea
AeroSpace Administration.
¨
Launch delayed ~4 years;
initially planned with Russian Soyuz, changed due to Russia-Ukraine War.
¨
Satellite separated ~1
hour after launch.
¨
Entered sun-synchronous
orbit at ~498 km altitude.
¨
First communication
established after 15 minutes with ground station in Svalbard.
¨
Confirmed normal
operation.
¨
Developed and
manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries.
¨
First mid-sized Earth
observation satellite built under private industry leadership in Korea.
¨
Satellite weight: 534 kg.
Equipped with high-resolution optical
sensors
¨ 0.5 m resolution (panchromatic imagery)
2.0 m resolution (colour imagery)
