South Korea Launches 15 Satellites on a Single Nuri Rocket

South Korea has achieved a major milestone in its space program by successfully launching 15 satellites on a single Nuri rocket. The fifth launch mission of the country’s domestically developed Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2), also known as Nuri, took place on Wednesday from the Naro Space Center in Goheung.

The three-stage liquid-fuel rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time. Following launch, the first stage, payload fairing and second stage separated successfully according to plan.

Around 12 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff, Nuri reached an altitude of approximately 575 kilometers, where the third-stage engine was shut down. The mission then moved into the complex process of deploying the satellites into their designated orbits.

The primary objective was to deploy five small satellites belonging to the New Space Earth Observation satellite constellation, NeonSat, developed for national security purposes. The satellites were released one after another at intervals of around 35 to 40 seconds.

Nuri then deployed 10 additional academic and commercial CubeSats, or nanosatellites, in pairs at intervals of approximately 10 seconds.

The mission was considerably more complex than Nuri’s fourth launch, which carried a single primary payload. Successfully deploying 15 satellites during one mission therefore represents an important step forward for South Korea’s growing space capabilities.

After completing the deployment mission, Nuri is expected to perform several planned trajectory changes to avoid potential collisions. It will eventually re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up.

The successful mission highlights South Korea’s growing ability to develop and operate its own launch vehicles while deploying multiple satellites in a single mission.