South Korean Military to Launch 3rd Reconnaissance Satellite in 425 Project in M

The third satellite in South Korea's '425 Project,' which aims to deploy five military reconnaissance satellites into space, is scheduled for launch in the third week of December.

According to Yonhap News on the 24th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) responded to inquiries, stating, "The target launch period for the third reconnaissance satellite is the 3rd to 4th week of December, with specific schedules under discussion with SpaceX."

This satellite is planned to be launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

Initially, DAPA had scheduled the satellite launch for November; however, the timeline has been pushed back to December. The specific reasons for the delay were not disclosed.

The '425 Project' is a strategic initiative to monitor North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, aiming to deploy a total of five reconnaissance satellites in low Earth orbit by 2025.

Among these, one satellite is equipped with Electro-Optical (EO) and Infrared (IR) equipment, while the remaining four are Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites.

Once the project is complete, the South Korean military will be capable of monitoring the entire North Korean region at a resolution of 30 cm, with a revisit time of up to every two hours. This capability is expected to significantly aid in identifying missile launch trends or preparations for nuclear tests in North Korea.

Separately, the Ministry of National Defense is pursuing plans to secure an additional 50 to 60 small and ultra-small reconnaissance satellites by 2030, further enhancing South Korea's surveillance capabilities and aiming to reduce the reconnaissance cycle over the Korean Peninsula to within 30 minutes.

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South Korean Military to Launch 3rd Reconnaissance Satellite in 425 Project in Mid-December