A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a spy satellite for South Korea launched out of California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday.
South Korea’s defense ministry announced that the satellite was placed into orbit and a little over an hour after launch “successfully established communication with an overseas ground station.”
The Asian country has reportedly contracted with SpaceX to launch a total of five spy satellites by 2025 in an effort to accelerate its goal of having 24-hour watch over the Korean peninsula.
“With this successful launch of the military satellite, our military has secured independent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that it would maximize the capabilities of its independent surveillance to gain an overwhelming advantage in competition with North Korea.
The satellite launched this week is an electro-optical and infra-red device, while the four following satellites are due to feature synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which can “see” through cloud cover and at night.
