Next-generation Medium-sized Satellite No. 4 Completes Final Check Ahead of July Launch

Final Pre-Shipment Review Completed... To Conduct Agricultural and Forestry Observation Missions
Scheduled for Launch from Vandenberg in July... To Be Used for Crop and Forest Disaster Monitoring

The Next-generation Medium-sized Satellite No. 4, a domestically developed satellite, has completed its final preparations ahead of transportation to a launch site in the United States. The satellite is scheduled to be launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA, in July, where it will carry out agricultural and forestry observation missions.

The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), together with the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Forest Service, announced on May 21 that they held a "Pre-Shipment Review (PSR)" for the Next-generation Medium-sized Satellite No. 4 (CAS500-4) at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, Gyeongnam.

Next-Generation Medium Satellite No. 4. Provided by Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA)

This meeting was convened to conduct a final check on the technical readiness and transportation safety of the satellite before moving it to the overseas launch site, following the completion of satellite development and performance and environmental tests.

Participants included representatives from the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Forest Service, which will utilize the satellite, as well as KAI, the lead agency, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which was responsible for payload development.

The attendees focused on reviewing the results of the satellite development and testing, preparations for satellite imaging mission operations, transportation safety measures, the launch schedule, and risk management plans.

The Next-generation Medium-sized Satellite No. 4 will be transported to the launch site in the United States in June and is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in July.

After launch, the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Forest Service will use satellite imagery for wide-area agricultural and forestry monitoring, crop analysis, and forest monitoring.

Bang Hyesun, Director of the Research Policy Bureau at the Rural Development Administration, stated, "We will enhance our agricultural monitoring capabilities by advancing satellite-based crop and farmland monitoring and agricultural disaster risk management systems."

Lee Jongsu, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Korea Forest Service, said, "We expect to strengthen our ability to respond to forest disasters and to quickly and accurately assess changes to forests caused by the climate crisis through rapid and precise forest observation."

Kim Jinhee, Director of the Satellite Division at KASA, commented, "The Next-generation Medium-sized Satellite No. 4 will serve as an important foundation for strengthening the use of satellite information in the agriculture and forestry sectors. We will make thorough preparations until the very end to ensure a successful launch and stable mission operations."

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