Nuri rocket lifts off on fifth mission with 15 satellites aboard

South Korea’s homegrown Nuri rocket lifted off on Wednesday on its fifth mission, carrying 15 satellites toward a sun-synchronous orbit about 575 kilometres above Earth The Korea Herald.

The three-stage rocket, also known as KSLV-II, blasted off at 12:25 p.m. local time from the second launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. On its way to the target orbit, Nuri was to separate its first stage, payload fairing and second stage in sequence before deploying the satellites The Korea Herald.

The rocket is carrying five microsatellites as its primary payload, along with 10 CubeSats. The five NEONSATs (New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety, Nos. 2 through 6) will operate as a constellation designed to provide high-resolution observations of the Korean Peninsula, each carrying an electro-optical camera for national security and disaster response, including monitoring wildfires and floods The Korea Times Kyodo News.

The mission is Nuri’s first attempt to deploy multiple satellites performing the same mission sequentially into orbit: the five NEONSATs are to be released in different directions at 35- to 40-second intervals, with the upper stage rotating about 45 degrees between each separation to prevent collisions, followed by the 10 CubeSats deployed two at a time Yonhap.

“On its fifth launch, the Nuri rocket will attempt Korea’s first satellite constellation launch mission,” said Park Jae-sung, head of the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s space transportation division. “It will mark a turning point for the country’s satellite development as it advances toward mass production and constellation operations” Kyodo News.

Authorities were expected to announce the outcome of the mission at around 2 p.m. local time, after checking satellite deployment and initial communications The Korea Herald.