The “Next-Generation Medium Satellite No. 2” (NGMS-2) has successfully lifted off into the sky over California, United States. NGMS-2 is the first satellite independently developed under the leadership of a domestic private company, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that NGMS-2 was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 4:00 p.m. on the 3rd (Korea Standard Time) and succeeded in establishing its first communication link. After about 30 days of functional checks, fuel loading, and other pre-launch preparations on site, NGMS-2 was sent into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The satellite separated from the launch vehicle approximately 60 minutes after liftoff and, 15 minutes later at 5:15 p.m., achieved its first communication with the Svalbard ground station in Norway.

Having successfully entered orbit at an altitude of about 498 km, NGMS-2 will undergo an initial operations phase of approximately four months before beginning full-scale mission operations in the second half of this year. The satellite is a 534 kg-class medium satellite specialized for Earth observation. It is capable of capturing high-resolution imagery detailed enough to distinguish the shapes of vehicles and buildings from the ground. The images it acquires will be used to monitor changes in national territory, support map production and urban planning, and rapidly identify and respond to disaster situations such as typhoons, floods, and wildfires.

Oh Tae-seog, Administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, “The successful launch of the Next-Generation Medium Satellite No. 2 is an important milestone that opens the era of a private sector-led new space industry.”

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