The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) both ended 2022 and started 2023 on a very high note as its first-ever lunar orbiter, Danuri, sent back black-and-white images of the Earth with the Moon’s surface in the foreground that were photographed between December 24 and January 1, KARI announced in a January 3rd statement. Both the images and videos were taken less than 120 kilometers (75 miles) above the Moon’s surface, and will be “used to select potential sites for a Moon landing in 2032,” KARI added in the statement.
Continue reading “South Korea’s Danuri Mission Sends Home Pictures of the Earth and Moon”South Korea’s First Orbital Mission to the Moon is on its Way

South Korea launched its first robotic mission to the Moon last week, as a SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched the Danuri Lunar Pathfinder mission on August 4, 2022 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The spacecraft was placed into a fuel-saving lunar transfer orbit, and it should arrive in lunar orbit in December.
Translated, Danuri means “enjoy the Moon.”
Continue reading “South Korea’s First Orbital Mission to the Moon is on its Way”South Korea Launches its First Rocket. The Third Stage cut off Short.
So far, only six countries have successfully launched more than 1 ton of equipment into space using domestically developed rockets. A seventh, North Korea, has successfully done so with a slightly smaller payload. Recently, their southern neighbor attempted to get into this exclusive club by testing its first-ever three-stage orbital rocket.
Continue reading “South Korea Launches its First Rocket. The Third Stage cut off Short.”South Korean Rocket Explodes 137 Seconds Into Flight
A South Korean rocket carrying a climate observation satellite apparently exploded 137 seconds into its flight early Thursday. The two-stage Naro rocket operated normally during and after liftoff from the country’s space center, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man said. But then communications with the rocket were lost.
This is the country’s second major space setback in less than a year.
Continue reading “South Korean Rocket Explodes 137 Seconds Into Flight”