The Next-generation Medium Satellite No. 4, which will carry out agriculture and forestry observation missions, has headed into space.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration said the Next-generation Medium Satellite No. 4 was successfully launched at 4:12 p.m. on the 7th (Korea time) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellite is expected to separate from the rocket about 2 hours and 30 minutes after liftoff, at around 6:42 p.m. About 21 minutes later, at around 7:03 p.m., or about 2 hours and 51 minutes after liftoff, it will attempt first contact with the Svalbard ground station in Norway. If the first contact succeeds, the satellite's condition and initial orbit insertion can be confirmed.
The Next-generation Medium Satellite No. 4 is a public satellite for observation in agriculture and forestry. It is expected to be used to observe crop growth and yields, changes in farmland, the status of forest resources, and disaster situations such as wildfires and landslides. The satellite will undergo initial operations and performance checks for about four months in an orbit about 888 kilometers high before beginning full-scale missions in the first half of 2027.