Korea’s first ‘ultra-small constellation satellite’ put into orbit ‘in good condition’… normal operation confirmed in the afternoon

NEONSAT 1, Korea’s first ultra-small practical satellite for earth observation, was launched into space on the 24th.

NeonSat No. 1 was launched at 7:32 a.m. (Korean time) on Rocket Lab’s ‘Electron’ rocket from the Mahiya Launch Complex in New Zealand. NeonSat 1 was finally separated from the rocket at approximately 8:22 a.m., approximately 50 minutes after launch. The launch process, including pairing with the first-stage engine and separation of the second-stage engine, was completed smoothly, and the satellite was put into final orbit using the kick stage. The launch was originally scheduled for around 7:08 a.m. on this day, but the launch was delayed due to the possibility of collision with another space vehicle and on-site inspection.

The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed that NeonSat 1 received satellite information through the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) ground station in Daejeon at 11:57 a.m., and that the overall condition of the satellite was good, with solar panels deployed normally and producing stable power. He said he did. However, it was reported that additional review of the received data was required to confirm whether the satellite was operating normally. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to confirm whether NeonSat 1 is operating normally by rechecking the satellite transmission and reception status through communication with the Svalbard, Norway ground station at around 4:30 pm on this day.

NeonSat has been developed by KAIST with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT since 2020 to closely monitor the Korean Peninsula and surrounding waters at high frequency and quickly respond to national security and disasters. NeonSat will launch five additional satellites in 2026 and 2027, resulting in a total of 11 microsatellites being clustered. It is considered an advantage in that it can capture images of the Korean Peninsula more frequently than a single medium- or large-sized Earth observation satellite. If 11 units are operated in clusters, it will be possible to film the Korean Peninsula more than three times a day.

NeonSat 1, which arrived at the Mahiya launch site in New Zealand on the 6th, completed final inspections for launch, including checking the status of the satellite and combining the launch vehicle. Rocket Lab announced that it named this mission ‘B·T·S (Beginning Of The Swarm)’. It has the same name as the K-pop group BTS.

NeonSat 1, which is being launched this time, will provide optical images with a resolution of about 1m at an altitude of 500km for about 3 years after confirming the performance of the satellite and the quality of observation images prior to swarm operation.