South Korea’s lunar orbiter approaching moon; ‘critical maneuver’ due Dec. 17

▲ South Korea’s robotic lunar orbiter, called Danuri, is flying smoothly to the moon at 0.9 km/s, with a set of trajectory correction maneuvers planned Dec. 17 (Korea standard time) to enter in orbit around the moon. / Credit: KARI 출처 : 산경투데이(https://www.sankyungtoday.com)

 

Park Si-soo

 

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Sankyung Today) -- South Korea’s robotic lunar orbiter, called Danuri, is flying smoothly to the moon at 0.9 km/s, with a set of trajectory correction maneuvers planned Dec. 17 (Korea standard time) to enter in orbit around the moon, according to the state-funded Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which operates the orbiter.

 

If successful, the spacecraft will conduct another set of trajectory correction maneuvers in the span of two weeks to reach its final destination: 100 km above the lunar surface, by the end of the year. After a brief period of commissioning and tests, the spacecraft’s year-long mission is expected to begin in January.

▲ Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter's payloads. / Credit: KARI 출처 : 산경투데이(https://www.sankyungtoday.com)

 

 

▲ Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter's trajectory. / Credit: KARI 출처 : 산경투데이(https://www.sankyungtoday.com)

 

 

The 678-kilogram spacecraft launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 40, Aug. 4.

 

It is carrying six scientific instruments, including a hypersensitive optical camera, ShadowCam, provided by NASA and a “space internet” demonstrator developed by South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.

 

The space internet demonstration was conducted twice, Aug. 25 and Oct. 28, validating an interplanetary internet connection using delay-disruption tolerant networking. The made-in-Korea equipment was designed to test the data transmission capability in a space environment where disconnection of telecommunications frequently occurs. 

 

While the first demonstration was conducted with the orbiter located about 1.21 million kilometers away from Earth, Danuri was 1.28 million kilometers from Earth for the second demo, according to KARI.

[저작권자ⓒ 산경투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]

출처 : 산경투데이(https://www.sankyungtoday.com)

 

 

South Korea’s lunar orbiter approaching moon; ‘critical maneuver’ due Dec. 17 (sankyungtoday.com)

South Korea’s lunar orbiter approaching moon; ‘critical maneuver’ due Dec. 17