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SEOUL – South Korea launched its first lunar orbiter on Friday as it doubles down on its space programs, aiming to land a probe on the moon by 2030.
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, named Danuri, which means “enjoy the moon,” was launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the US space force’s Cape Canaveral station in Florida at 8:08 a.m. Friday (2308 GMT Thursday), it said Ministry of Science of South Korea.
The 678 kg (1,495 lb) Danuri separated from the projectile about 40 minutes after launch and began communication with a ground station at about 9:40 a.m.
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“Analysis of the received information confirmed … Danuri was operating normally,” Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-seog said at a briefing, announcing that the orbiter had established a trajectory toward the moon.
It will enter lunar orbit in December before beginning a year-long observation mission, including searching for a landing site and testing space internet technology, the ministry said.
If successful, South Korea will become the seventh lunar explorer in the world and the fourth in Asia after China, Japan and India.
The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was delayed due to a maintenance issue with the SpaceX rocket.
South Korea is accelerating its space program with the goal of sending a probe to the moon by 2030. It has also joined the Artemis project, which aims to return to the moon by 2024.
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In July, South Korea conducted a second test launch of the domestically produced Nuri missile and reported its first successful launch of a solid-fuel launch vehicle in March as part of efforts to launch spy satellites.
Space launches have long been a sensitive issue on the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea faces international sanctions over its nuclear ballistic missile program.
In March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an expansion of the space launch pad to advance his space ambitions after South Korea and the United States accused him of testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile under the guise of launching a space shuttle means.
South Korea maintains that its space program is for peaceful and scientific purposes and any military use of the technology, such as in spy satellites, is for its defense. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Robert Birsel and Edmund Klamann)
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