South Korea's first military communications satellite returned to normal service following more than half a day of being out of communication after it was hit by a technical glitch, the satellite's operator KT Corp. said Friday.
Mugunghwa 5, which was built by Alcatel of France and put into orbit in 2006, was fully operating as of 3:54 p.m. Friday afternoon, about 14 hours after the glitch left military communications and another 20 private clients unable to communicate with the satellite.
The malfunction occurred at 1:55 a.m. Friday morning as the glitch failed to position the satellite appropriately, KT said.
"Seasonal factors, including a solar eclipse, made the satellite change its position. So the satellite processed data incorrectly," an official at KT was quoted as saying by Yonhap News.
The recovery was delayed because the company had to work in conjunction with Alcatel, KT said in a statement. KT is the nation's largest fixed-line telecommunications service provider.