Korea completes development of its first small satellite constellation

Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) and Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in operating lightweight satellites for high-precision observation, April 29, 2024. Courtesy of K-water

Korea has completed the development of the country's first small satellite constellation set to be topped on the Nuri rocket in October, and held a pre-shipment review on Thursday, the space agency said.

The group of spacecraft is part of Korea's project to operate 10 lightweight satellites for high-precision observation of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters, the Korea Aerospace Agency (KASA) said.

An electro-optical camera with a spatial resolution from 1m to 4m will be topped on the satellites, the agency said.

The five satellites are Korea's first mass-produced earth observation satellite using commercial off-the-shelf parts. The country had previously launched a prototype in April 2024.

KASA said the satellites highlight Korea's continuously advancing satellite production capacity, and vowed to strengthen the country's competitiveness in the space industrial sector.