© AP
The South Korean Ministry of Science announced the successful launch of South Korea’s first satellite probe from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida on Friday. The unmanned Danuri will spend year to year examining its surface from orbit around the celestial body.
source: BELGA
At 2:08 a.m. Belgian time, the Falcon-9 launch vehicle took off from the space company SpaceX. The first stage returned to the ground and accurately landed on the drone, just read the instructions. Forty minutes and sixteen seconds later, at an altitude of 1,656 km, the second stage put the South Korean 678 kg probe, in language KPLO (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter), on a course to the moon. Lunar Explorer made a successful connection to ground facilities ninety minutes after liftoff.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the trip will take about 4.5 months. Arrival is scheduled for December 16th. If it succeeds, South Korea will become the seventh power to reach the moon.
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Danuri has six instruments on board that the probe is examining the floor of the moon from an altitude of about 100 kilometers. This way, the probe can identify potential landing sites for future missions, Yonhap says. Danuri is also the first to test a new communication system that avoids interference.
It took seven years to develop and build the probe and about $180 million. If there is still enough fuel on board, the mission can continue into 2024.
special launcher
As part of its ambitious space program, Seoul aims to land a rover on the moon by 2031. In June, the country successfully launched its first fully self-developed launch vehicle, Nuri. The first attempt failed.
Incidentally, this was the second launch in a day from Cape Canaveral, a record since 1967. A little less than thirteen hours ago, the Atlas 5 launch vehicle, which launched a US military satellite into space, took off.
It was also the 34th Falcon-9 mission this year.
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