[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] South Korea's First Military Reconnaissance Satellite to Launch from US Mainland in December

SpaceX Launch Delayed Due to Spacecraft Failure
Following Five Medium-Large Reconnaissance Satellites, Small Satellite Launch Also Postponed

Our military's first independently developed reconnaissance satellite is scheduled to be launched in December from the U.S. mainland aboard a rocket from Elon Musk's private space exploration company, SpaceX. The Ministry of National Defense is currently advancing the '425 Project,' which involves launching four radar reconnaissance satellites and one optical satellite to monitor the Korean Peninsula and its surroundings, with the first launch set to take place.

On the 26th, a government official stated, "The satellite launch was originally scheduled for October, but the schedule was delayed to December after the first test flight of SpaceX's spacecraft 'Starship' failed last month."

Falcon 9 rocket flying for the 'One App' internet infrastructure network. [Source=Yonhap News]

The government finalized a contract with SpaceX through a public bidding process last year, and in February, the U.S. government approved the export of the launch vehicle. The planned launch date at the time of the contract was October. However, considering weather and technical factors, a 120-day launch window was set. Although the contract allows for launches until February next year, the military plans to place five reconnaissance satellites into orbit this year using SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The military previously launched a military communications satellite using SpaceX's launch vehicle in 2020.

The reason the military is using SpaceX's launch vehicle to launch reconnaissance satellites is due to the size and weight of the satellites. The total weight of the eight satellites onboard the Nuri rocket, which successfully launched the day before, is just over 500 kg. However, the reconnaissance satellites used by our military weigh around 800 kg, making it difficult to use domestically developed launch vehicles.

Through the '425 Project,' the military plans to sequentially launch five high-resolution medium-to-large reconnaissance satellites. This will enable the military to collect information related to key facilities such as North Korean missile bases and nuclear test sites. However, since the revisit cycle takes two hours, there will inevitably be surveillance gaps.

For this reason, the military plans to develop ultra-small and small satellites by November. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has already succeeded in the first test launch of a solid-fuel space launch vehicle suitable for carrying ultra-small and small satellites. According to the military's plan, the final test of the solid-fuel space launch vehicle will be completed within this year, and next year, ultra-small reconnaissance satellites can be directly launched using this vehicle.

Until now, the reconnaissance satellites possessed by our military were limited to the multipurpose practical satellite (Arirang) series, which also serves observation purposes. In response, the military is building a military response system (Kill Chain) that detects North Korean threats in real time and conducts preemptive strikes, with the 425 Project being called the 'eyes' of the Kill Chain. It has been pursued since 2018 with an investment of over 1.2 trillion won.

Reconnaissance satellites, orbiting 500 to 600 km above the Earth and capable of identifying objects as small as several tens of centimeters, represent a culmination of advanced technology, and play a key infrastructure role in the Kill Chain and KAMD (Korean Air and Missile Defense system), thus holding significant military and industrial importance. A military official said, "By launching five additional reconnaissance satellites starting this year, we expect to establish a core force of the Kill Chain that can detect signs of North Korean nuclear and missile attacks in advance and conduct preemptive strikes."