Korea's First Local Government Ocean Observation Satellite 'BusanSat' Successfully Launched

Nara Space Completes Two-Way Communication

Satellite Data to Be Used in NASA Climate Research

Nara Space Technology has successfully launched and established two-way communication with "Busan Saet" (BusanSat), Busan Metropolitan City's ultra-small ocean observation satellite. As the first ultra-small ocean observation satellite operated by a local government in Korea, it is expected to be utilized for managing Busan's marine environment and in global climate research.

Nara Space announced on May 7 that Busan Saet was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the United States on May 3 (local time). The satellite successfully separated from the rocket approximately 139 minutes after launch, completed two-way communication, and has now entered its initial operation phase.

Photo of Busan New Port. Provided by Naraspace

Busan Saet is Korea's first ultra-small ocean observation satellite operated by a local government. It is a 12U-class satellite (20×20×30 cm) weighing about 12 kg, equipped with a polarimetric camera to observe fine dust over the sea and marine and atmospheric environments in the Busan Port, the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, and the Pacific region.

The collected data will be used for analyzing Busan's marine environment, establishing policies to address fine dust, and supporting industries based on marine data. In addition, the satellite will contribute to international cooperation projects underway between Busan Metropolitan City, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, and NASA's Langley Research Center, where the data will be used for climate change analysis.

This mission features Nara Space's self-developed "Highly Adaptive Platform," an ultra-small satellite platform designed to accommodate various payloads and mission environments. The company explained that the successful communication in this mission demonstrates the platform's potential for expansion into marine and atmospheric observation fields.

Lee Jeongkyu, Head of Business at Nara Space, said, "Busan Saet is significant as the first ultra-small satellite specialized in ocean observation to apply the Highly Adaptive Platform, and as the first ocean observation satellite operated by a local government in Korea. It presents a satellite model capable of providing marine fine dust observation data for actual use in the public and industrial sectors."

Park Jaepil, CEO of Nara Space, commented, "It is meaningful that the satellite, prepared over about seven years from planning to development and launch, has been successfully launched. We expect it will contribute to Busan's marine environment management and international climate research in collaboration with NASA's Langley Research Center."

Busan Saet will undergo initial operation until the end of this month and is scheduled to begin full-scale observation missions from next month.

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