– All 5 Primary Payloads Successfully Communicate with Ground Stations
– Microsatellites 2–6 in Good Condition, All Systems Operating Normally
– 8 of 9 Secondary Payloads Establish Initial Contact; One Pending
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA, Administrator Taeseog Oh) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, President Choongsik Bae) announced that all five mass-produced microsatellites, Microsatellites 2–6, launched aboard Korea’s space launch vehicle Nuri at 12:25 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, had successfully entered their target orbits and established two-way communications with ground stations at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in Daejeon, King Sejong Station in Antarctica, and Svalbard in the Arctic by 6:00 p.m. today.
Following the initial contact established by Microsatellite 6 with the ground station at King Sejong Station in Antarctica at approximately 1:08 p.m., Microsatellite 4 established two-way communications with the same ground station at approximately 2:42 p.m. Microsatellite 3 then communicated with the Svalbard ground station at approximately 3:27 p.m., followed by Microsatellite 2 with the King Sejong Station ground station at approximately 4:18 p.m. and Microsatellite 5 with the same station at approximately 5:52 p.m.
During today’s communications, all five satellites successfully transmitted their unique identification data and telemetry data and responded normally to commands from the ground. Initial contact also confirmed that the satellites’ basic functions and conditions were generally good, including solar panel deployment, power generation, temperature, and attitude.
Based on these results, KASA and KAIST concluded that all five mass-produced satellites had successfully entered their target orbits and that the launch had been completed successfully. They have now begun full-scale initial operations.
Going forward, the teams will check the status of each of Microsatellites 2–6, including the satellite bus, optical payload, communications system, and attitude control system. They will also capture and receive test images. Following in-orbit testing and image quality verification, the satellites are scheduled to join existing satellites in constellation-based Earth observation missions.
The microsatellite constellation development project is led by the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center with support from KASA, with participation from domestic industry, academia, and research institutions, including KARI and Satrec Initiative Co., Ltd. In addition to the satellites themselves, the project also involves developing ground systems for controlling and receiving data from multiple satellites, as well as systems for image calibration, validation, and utilization.
This launch marks the first time among Korea’s national satellites that five mass-produced satellites designed to perform the same mission have been launched simultaneously and all have successfully established communications. It is particularly significant in demonstrating Korea’s constellation operations capabilities by identifying the orbits of multiple satellites and conducting communications and status checks for each satellite within limited ground station contact windows.
Meanwhile, eight of the nine secondary payload satellites — E3T Unit 2 (KARI); SLEDGE (OnB Space); GBSAT (KAIST); ULYSSES (Unmanned Exploration Laboratory); SD-1Sat (Space & Bean); BEE-1012 (Space LiinTech); JACK-007 (Cosmoworks); and CP-Sat (Chosun University / Pusan National University) — have established communications with ground stations, while attempts to contact the remaining satellite (DaejeonSat-1 by Daejeon Metropolitan City) are ongoing. KASA plans to issue a press release on Tuesday, October 13, providing a comprehensive update on the status of the secondary payload satellites.
KASA Administrator Taeseog Oh said, “The successful launch of five national satellites and the establishment of initial contact with all five have demonstrated Korea’s capabilities in satellite mass production and constellation operations. We will proceed with initial operations and performance verification without disruption and put the satellites to practical use in national security and disaster response.”