Satellite Arirang 5
Korea Multi-purpose Satellite Arirang 5 launched from Russia on August 22, successfully entered orbit, and contacted ground facilities.
The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced that Arirang 5 contacted ground facilities at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon on August 23 at 5:35AM, which is 5 hours and 56 minutes after launch. It reported that the solar panels are working properly and the condition of the satellite is fine.
From now, Arirang 5 will go through orbital adjustments to accurately settle in its final operating reference orbit. Then, after 6 months of testing, it will start carrying out its missions. Arirang 5 is carrying an all-weather video recording payload, and for the next five years will collect visual information from 550km up in space to be used for public safety, national and resource management, and natural disaster surveillance.
Arirang 5 shoots microwaves to the ground and uses the reflected signals to make video. This model overcame the limits of cloudy days or nights that previous optical video satellites (multi-purpose satellites 2 and 3) had. Arirang 5 can quickly provide precise information and prevent financial and life loss during times of flood, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, land subsidence, oil leaks, and other national disasters.