Yoon hails space vehicle's successful entry into moon's orbit
Korea's lunar exploration orbiter, the Danuri, is launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Space Force Base 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. Aug. 4. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday hailed the successful entry of a Korean unmanned space vehicle into the orbit of the moon.
Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, was captured by the moon's gravity Tuesday and began rotation, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
"Danuri, which left the Earth 145 days ago, succeeded in entering the moon's orbit," Yoon wrote on Facebook. "It is a historic moment telling the world of the excellence of Korea's space and science technology and marking a leap to a top seven space power in the world."
Yoon thanked the researchers behind Danuri's development for their hard work, and asked the nation for its continued support and encouragement. (Yonhap)