Korea's first Korea Positioning System (KPS) satellite, No. 1, will be launched into space aboard a U.S. SpaceX rocket in Sep. 2029.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said on the 30th that they signed a launch contract for the first KPS satellite with SpaceX.
With this contract, Korea is set to move in earnest to secure an independent satellite navigation service. Building KPS is expected to be a turning point for the national navigation infrastructure.
The KPS 1 satellite will be Korea's first navigation satellite and will carry out its mission in an inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO). Starting with the first launch in 2029, the space agency plans to place a total of eight satellites into orbit by 2035 to complete the KPS constellation. Of the eight KPS satellites, five will operate in inclined geosynchronous orbit and three in geostationary orbit.
Once KPS is complete, stable navigation services will be provided to the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas. Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have its own navigation satellite system, following the United States (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), the European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), Japan (QZSS), and India (NavIC).
Kim Jin-hee, head of the satellite division at the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, "KPS is an important foundation not only for public convenience in daily life but also for public safety and the competitiveness of future industries," adding, "After the first launch in 2029, we will complete the entire system by 2035 without delays and provide stable services."