Nuri declared a success on fifth flight; five cluster satellites make contact
Version 2: The space agency has now officially declared the fifth Nuri launch a success, officials have confirmed that one cube satellite failed to separate, and all five cluster satellites have made first contact with ground stations.
In short
South Korea's Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung and the Korea Aerospace Administration declared the fifth flight a success, saying all 15 satellites were placed in orbit. Officials said 14 of the 15 separated — the cube satellite Persat-02 was not ejected — while the five NEONSAT cluster satellites all made first contact with ground stations by 5:52 p.m. The agency said the sixth Nuri launch is targeted for the second half of next year.
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South Korea's Nuri rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung at 12:25 p.m. on 7 October and the Korea Aerospace Administration declared the fifth flight a success. The agency and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said all 15 satellites aboard were placed in orbit. Administrator Oh Tae-seok said the launch took place at its scheduled time, the first such case in the programme's history, and that the third stage vented remaining oxidiser and helium to avoid a collision with the separated satellites and an on-orbit explosion. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]
The payload was the largest in the programme: five NEONSAT small cluster satellites, units 2 to 6, as the main payload and ten cube satellites, reports said. The five cluster satellites were released at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds and the cube satellites two at a time about ten seconds apart. Officials later said 14 of the 15 satellites separated and that the cube satellite Persat-02 was not ejected. An earlier Newsis report said the same, quoting mission director Park Jong-chan as saying a separation signal was sent normally; no document gives a reason for the failure. [ 3 , 5 , 9 , 16 , 19 , 22 ]
All five cluster satellites made first contact with ground stations, the agency said. NEONSAT unit 6 signalled the Antarctic Sejong station at 1:08 p.m., about 43 minutes after launch, unit 4 followed at 2:42 p.m., unit 3 at 3:27 p.m. from the Svalbard station, unit 2 at 4:18 p.m. and unit 5 at 5:52 p.m. Asia Economy reported it was the first time South Korea launched five national satellites on the same mission and confirmed communications with all of them. [ 17 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]
The NEONSAT satellites target an altitude of about 570 km with a tolerance of 15 km and are to adjust their spacing over about two to three months to form a constellation that can observe the Korean Peninsula more than three times a day and re-image a site within 24 hours, reports said. Units 7 to 11 are to go up on the sixth Nuri launch, which the space agency said is targeted for the second half of next year. [ 9 , 16 , 28 ]
President Lee Jae-myung watched the launch at the presidential office with his chief of staff, policy chief and AI future planning secretary, and said the government had backed the launches and that the launch cycle should be shortened further, according to the presidential spokesperson. In a message on X he said the cluster satellites would act as guardians of space. The Jeollanam-do provincial government and Goheung county, Daejeon mayor Heo Tae-jeong and Sacheon mayor Park Dong-sik also issued welcoming statements, while Hankook Ilbo reported this was South Korea's fifth launch vehicle success since the 2013 Naro launch and Nuri's fourth in a row, and that the government plans to accelerate next-generation launch vehicle and deep space projects. [ 14 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]
Why it matters
The flight was the programme's largest and most complex payload, and the agency's success declaration follows years of state-backed launch vehicle development that domestic outlets link to a private space transport market and to follow-on lunar and deep space projects. The failure of one cube satellite to separate is the mission's one publicly acknowledged shortfall, while the first signals from all five cluster satellites move South Korea's first cluster-satellite system into initial operations.
Key facts
- Nuri lifted off at 12:25 p.m. from the second launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- The rocket carried 15 satellites, its largest payload: five NEONSAT small cluster satellites (units 2 to 6) as main payload and ten cube satellites. [ 5 , 9 ]
- The Korea Aerospace Administration declared the fifth launch a success, and the agency and KARI said the 15 satellites were placed in orbit. [ 10 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]
- Officials said 14 of the 15 satellites separated and that the cube satellite Persat-02 was not ejected. [ 3 , 16 , 19 , 22 ]
- All five NEONSAT cluster satellites made first communication with ground stations, the last at 5:52 p.m. [ 17 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]
- Administrator Oh Tae-seok said this was the first Nuri launch to take place at its scheduled time. [ 12 , 13 ]
- The space agency said NEONSAT units 7 to 11 will go up on the sixth Nuri launch, targeted for the second half of next year. [ 16 , 28 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung watched the launch and called for the launch cycle to be shortened further, according to the presidential spokesperson. [ 23 , 26 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Nuri launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung at 12:25 p.m. on its fifth flight. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]
- The Korea Aerospace Administration officially declared the fifth Nuri launch a success. [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]
- Five NEONSAT cluster satellites, units 2 to 6, were placed in orbit. [ 10 , 22 , 28 ]
- All five NEONSAT satellites made first contact with ground stations. [ 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]
- Fourteen of the 15 satellites separated; the cube satellite Persat-02 was not ejected, officials said. [ 3 , 16 , 19 , 22 ]
- Space agency chief Oh Tae-seok said the launch took place at its scheduled time, a first in the programme's history. [ 12 , 13 ]
Still unclear
- Why the cube satellite Persat-02 did not separate from the rocket. No document gives a cause; an earlier Newsis report said a separation signal was sent normally but did not separate, and that article's text ends mid-sentence.
- The precise orbit-insertion figures for the 15 satellites. Outlets said the agency and KARI would present detailed flight and orbit-insertion results at a briefing, but no document in this set reports those numbers.
- The operational status of the cube satellites other than Persat-02. Documents report their separation but not any communication or status checks for the cube satellites.
- Oh said the third stage vented remaining oxidiser and helium to prevent a collision with the separated satellites and an on-orbit explosion. Reported by a single source so far
- The space agency said the sixth Nuri launch is targeted for the second half of next year. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Nuri lifts off from the second launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung at the scheduled time. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- The flight sequence ends as the agency and KARI stop tracking operations. [ 4 , 5 , 8 ]
- The Korea Aerospace Administration and KARI announce that all 15 satellites were placed normally, and Administrator Oh Tae-seok briefs reporters. [ 10 , 12 , 13 ]
- NEONSAT unit 6 makes the first communication with the Antarctic Sejong ground station, about 43 minutes after launch. [ 17 , 28 ]
- The space agency officially announces the fifth Nuri launch as a success. [ 15 , 16 ]
- Oh Tae-seok says nine cube satellites separated and one was not ejected. [ 16 , 19 ]
- The official agency reports that 14 satellites separated but one cube satellite failed to eject, with the cluster satellites in orbit. [ 22 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung welcomes the success and calls for launch cycles to be shortened. [ 23 ]
- NEONSAT unit 5 contacts the Sejong station, completing first communication for all five cluster satellites. [ 27 , 28 , 30 ]
- A comprehensive report confirms the cluster satellites have begun operations. [ 32 ]