9 Out of 12 Nuri Secondary Payload Satellites Succeed in Communication...3 Still Attempting Signal Acquisition

Initial Communication Confirms Survival and Integrity
Satellites Enter Full Mission Preparation Stage

It has been confirmed that 9 out of 12 secondary payload satellites carried by the Korean launch vehicle Nuri on its fourth flight successfully established communication with ground stations. The Korea Aerospace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute released the initial communication results for the satellites launched at 1:13 a.m. on November 27, stating that 9 satellites have completed their status checks without issues.

"Five Satellites Established Initial Contact on Launch Day"...Multiple Two-Way Communications Secured

On November 27, immediately after the launch, a total of five satellites succeeded in establishing their first communication. Inha University’s INHA-RoSAT received its first signal around 2:00 a.m., followed by CosmoWorks’ JACK-003 and JACK-004, which also confirmed both communication and two-way signal transmission and reception at the same time.

ETRISat, developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), succeeded in communication at around 2:40 a.m., confirming that its initial status, including solar antenna deployment, was normal. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)’s K-HERO also secured its first signal at around 4:00 a.m. and is currently undergoing function checks.

On the following day, November 28, SPIRONE (Sejong University) and COSMIC (UjuroTech) were each confirmed by ground stations at around 1:30 a.m., and Sejong-4 (Hancom InSpace) completed its first and two-way communication at around 11:40 p.m., entering the satellite status verification stage. Additionally, on November 29, Seoul National University’s SNUGLITE-III succeeded in communication at around 1:00 p.m. and is undergoing function check procedures.

"Three Satellites Yet to Establish Contact"...Further Attempts Planned Based on Accurate Orbital Data

There are still three satellites that have not succeeded in establishing communication. These are EEE Tester-1 from KARI, PERSAT from Quaternion, and BEE-1000 from Space Lintech. The Korea Aerospace Administration and KARI plan to continue attempting to acquire signals using precise orbital data from the United States Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC). CSpOC operates a U.S. Space Force surveillance infrastructure that tracks the orbits of space objects as small as about 10 centimeters, using radar, optical telescopes, and low Earth orbit satellites.

Through initial communication, each satellite verifies its survival, power, antenna, and communication functions to confirm basic integrity. Then, through ongoing communication, they enter the initial operation phase to verify the operation of payloads and the overall system. Once this inspection process is complete, the satellites will begin their full-scale missions in education, technology verification, and observation.

Park Jaesung, Director of the Space Transportation Division at the Korea Aerospace Administration, stated, "CubeSats are at the forefront of rapidly advancing space technology, experiencing both failures and successes," adding, "We will continue to provide various launch opportunities so that creative ideas from the private sector can be validated in actual space."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.