'Arirang 7' for Precision Observation of the Korean Peninsula Departs for Launch Site

Arrival at Guiana Space Centre on September 25,
Launch Scheduled for Late November

The Korea Aerospace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced on September 23 (Korean time) that Arirang 7 (Multipurpose Practical Satellite 7), equipped with a sub-meter-class ultra-high-resolution electro-optical camera, has departed for the Guiana Space Centre in South America to prepare for launch.

Arirang 7 held a delivery ceremony before departing from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute

On this day, Arirang 7 left the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon and was transported from Incheon Airport on an Antonov Airlines AN-124 dedicated cargo aircraft. It is scheduled to arrive at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, South America, on September 25, two days later. Throughout the entire transport process, the satellite is moved in a specially designed vibration-free, temperature- and humidity-controlled container made by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

At the Guiana Space Centre in South America, Arirang 7 will undergo pre-launch preparations, including satellite status checks, fuel loading, and integration with the launch vehicle. It is scheduled to be launched aboard the Vega-C launch vehicle of Arianespace in late November. After launch, it will go through an initial operation phase and is expected to begin providing high-resolution Earth observation images in earnest from the first half of next year.

Kim Jinhee, Director of the Satellite Division at the Korea Aerospace Administration, stated, "With the Arirang 7 satellite, we will be able to obtain improved high-resolution images in a timely manner compared to before, which is expected to greatly benefit public and private applications such as disaster and emergency response, terrain and ocean monitoring, and environmental and land management."

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