(LEAD) Hancom-satellite
(LEAD) Hancom launches S. Korea's 1st commercial Earth observation satellite
(ATTN: UPDATES with livestream of Sejong-1 launch, no immediate reaction from company)
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on early Thursday in a mission to carry South Korea's first commercial Earth observation satellite into orbit.
A livestream of the Sejong-1 launch through SpaceX's YouTube channel showed the rocket was soaring toward space.
No officials of Hancom InSpace Co. were immediately available for comment on early Thursday.
Sejong-1 is set to orbit the Earth 12 to 14 times a day, completing an orbit every 90 minutes, according to Hancom InSpace Co.
The South Korean aerospace tech company said it has built the 10.8-kilogram satellite in cooperation with U.S. space data company Spire Global.
Hancom InSpace has said it plans to sell imagery and geospatial analytics services to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries where there is high demand for such data for agricultural and other purposes.
The company plans to operate a total of five satellites by 2024, with a goal to develop and use its own proprietary payload from the launch of Sejong-4. It also plans to launch a low-orbit telecommunications satellite in 2025.
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