space agency-satellite plan

▲ Oh Tae-seok (L), administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, speaks during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to launch military reconnaissance satellites aboard its homegrown Nuri rocket in 2031 to bolster its space surveillance capabilities, the aerospace agency said Tuesday.

Oh Tae-seok, administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), unveiled the plan during a Cabinet meeting following Nuri's successful fifth launch earlier this month, which placed five Earth observation microsatellites into orbit. The plan calls for at least one Nuri launch annually through 2032.

Nuri's 11th launch, scheduled for 2031, will carry four electro-optical (EO) reconnaissance microsatellites. South Korea has previously relied on foreign launch vehicles to deploy its military satellites.

The rocket's 12th launch in 2032 will carry three companion satellites designed to operate alongside the Arirang 8 multipurpose satellite, which will be equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of capturing images regardless of weather conditions or daylight.

As part of its broader launch schedule, KASA also plans to deploy five additional Earth observation microsatellites in the second half of 2027 and the fifth next-generation medium-sized satellite in 2028.

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