|
The launch, which comes after Seoul's first spy satellite was
put into orbit from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base in
December, was livestreamed on social media platforms X and
YouTube.
The Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 2317 GMT on Sunday and the
satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle 45
minutes later and entered its targeted orbit, the ministry said
in a statement.
It made successful communications with a ground station about
two hours and 40 minutes after the launch, the ministry added.
The back-to-back launches of reconnaissance satellites come amid
a race against North Korea for military capabilities in space.
After two earlier attempts ended in rocket crashes, Pyongyang
said in November last year that it used its own Chollima-1
launch vehicle to place the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance
satellite in orbit.
North Korea has previously vowed to launch three new spy
satellites in 2024.
South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that
North Korea could launch a second spy satellite as early as in
mid-April, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Shin's comment was based on the military's observation of North
Korea's related activities, South Korean defence ministry
spokesman Jeon Ha-gyu told a briefing.
Seoul's second spy satellite is equipped with a synthetic
aperture radar (SAR) capable of producing images regardless of
weather conditions due to how it processes data.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Jamie Freed)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
