This image provided by KT SAT shows Koreasat-6A being launched into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at a space launch complex in Florida on Nov. 11, 2024 (U.S. time). (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — KT SAT Co., the satellite service arm of South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp., said Tuesday it has successfully launched its geostationary satellite for communications service into orbit.
The Koreasat-6A was launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from a space launch complex in Florida at around 12:22 p.m. Monday (U.S. time), according to company officials. The satellite will start service next year for the government, military and broadcasting stations after conducting an in-orbit test.
It marks the first satellite launched by KT SAT in seven years. The company previously launched Koreasat 5A and Koreasat 7, both communications satellites, in 2017.
The Koreasat-6A, which offers more detailed location information across South Korea based on the Korea Augmentation Satellite System, will replace the current Koreasat 6 satellite in orbit, which is set to finish its design life of 15 years in 2025, according to the officials.
The satellite is also installed with KT SAT’s independent satellite control system, dubbed the Koreasat Monitoring Operation System, that supports big data analysis function, they explained.
“With access to multi orbit, KT SAT will bolster its competitiveness in the geostationary orbit satellite service market, along with its capabilities in the low-orbit satellite service, to lead the domestic satellite industry,” KT SAT CEO Seo Young-soo said.
(Yonhap)
