Military seeks to acquire around 60 small, micro spy satellites by 2030

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying South Korea's first indigenous spy satellite launches at U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, in this Dec. 1, 2023 file photo provided by SpaceX. Yonhap

South Korea's military seeks to acquire around 60 small and micro-sized spy satellites by 2030, a source said Wednesday, amid efforts to bolster independent monitoring capabilities against North Korean threats.

The military plans to launch around 10 to 20 small-sized reconnaissance satellites and some 40 microsatellites after acquiring five mid-sized spy satellites by 2025, according to the sources.

South Korea launched its first military spy satellite into orbit on a SpaceX rocket from a U.S. military base in California last December as part of a project to acquire the five mid-sized satellites, which have a mass of around 800 to 1,000 kilograms.

The source said authorities are pushing for the acquisition of small and micro-sized satellites as they determined that the mid-sized satellites were not enough to properly monitor North Korea.

The state arms procurement agency announced a plan last year to develop a microsatellite system by 2030.

Through the envisioned satellite constellation, the military is expected to monitor the Korean Peninsula every 30 minutes or less.

The small-sized satellites, which have a mass of less than 500 kilograms, and the microsatellites under 100 kilograms are planned to be launched from a homegrown solid-fuel space rocket.

The launch period for the small-sized satellites is said to be scheduled for 2026 to 2028, while that of the microsatellites will be from 2028 to 2030.

"The push for a homegrown solid-fuel space rocket also influenced the plan to acquire additional reconnaissance satellites," the source said.

Last December, the military successfully conducted its third test flight of a solid-fuel space rocket. (Yonhap)