KOMPSAT or Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite is a series of South Korean multipurpose satellite for Earth observation, communications, meteorological, environmental, agricultural, and oceanographic monitoring applications.
KOMPSAT or Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite is a series of South Korean multipurpose satellite for Earth observation, communications, meteorological, environmental, agricultural, and oceanographic monitoring applications.
| Designation | Other name | COSPAR ID | SATCAT | Launch Date (UTC) | Launch vehicle | Launch Site | Orbit | Status | Remarks | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOMPSAT-1 | Arirang-1 | 1999-070A | 26032 | 21 December 1999 07:13 | Taurus | Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States | SSO | Deactivated | [1] [2] | |
| KOMPSAT-2 | Arirang-2 | 2006-031A | 29268 | 29 July 2006 07:05:43 | Rokot-KM | Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia | SSO | Active | [1] [3] | |
| KOMPSAT-3 | Arirang-3 | 2012-025B | 38338 | 17 May 2012 16:39 | H-IIA | Tanegashima Space Center, Japan | SSO | Active | [1] [4] | |
| KOMPSAT-5 | Arirang-5 | 2013-042A | 39227 | 22 August 2013 | Dnepr | Dombarovskiy Launch Site, Russia | SSO | Active | [1] [5] | |
| KOMPSAT-3A | Arirang-3A | 2015-014A | 40536 | 25 March 2015 | Dnepr | Dombarovsky Launch Site, Russia | SSO | Active | [6] | |
| GEO-KOMPSAT-1 | COMS 1 or Cheollian 1 | 2010-032A | 36744 | 26 June 2010 | Ariane 5 | Centre Spatial Guyanais, French Guiana | GEO | Deactivated | [7] | |
| GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | Cheollian 2A | 2018-100A | 43823 | 4 December 2018 | Ariane 5 | Centre Spatial Guyanais, French Guiana | GEO | Active | [8] [9] | |
| GEO-KOMPSAT-2B | Cheollian 2B | 2020-013B | 45246 | 18 February 2020 | Ariane 5 | Centre Spatial Guyanais, French Guiana | GEO | Active | [8] [9] | |
| KOMPSAT-6 | Arirang-6 | December 2024 | Vega-C | Centre Spatial Guyanais, French Guiana | SSO | Planned | [10] | |||
| KOMPSAT-7A | Arirang-7A | Q3 2025 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral, Florida | SSO | Planned | [11] | |||
| KOMPSAT-7 | Arirang-7 | January 2026 | Vega-C | Centre Spatial Guyanais, French Guiana | SSO | Planned | [12] | |||
| GEO-KOMPSAT-3 | Cheollian-3 | H2 2027 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral, Florida | GEO | Planned | [13] | |||
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system, is in development.
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.
Vega is an expendable small-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace, produced by Avio, and jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012. It is the 8th most launched small lift launch vehicle in history. The final flight of the rocket is scheduled for September 2024, after which the vehicle will be replaced by the improved Vega C, already in use.
Rokot, also transliterated Rockot, was a Soviet Union space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kilograms (4,300 lb) into a 200-kilometre (120 mi) Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. The cost of the launcher itself was about US$15 million in 1999; The contract with European Space Agency (ESA) for launching Swarm in September 2013 was worth €27.1 million.
PROBA, renamed PROBA-1, is a Belgian satellite technology demonstration mission launched atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by ISRO on 22 October 2001. The satellite was funded through the ESA's MicroSat and General Study Program with the objective of addressing issues regarding on-board operational autonomy of a generic satellite platform. This small boxlike system, with solar panel collectors on its surface, hosts two Earth Observation instruments dubbed CHRIS and HRC. CHRIS is a hyperspectral system that images at 17 m resolution, while HRC is a monochromatic camera that images visible light at 5 m resolution.
Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Daewoo Heavy Industries' aerospace division, Samsung Aerospace, and Hyundai Space and Aircraft. During 1999, KAI became more independent of its founding members, acquiring their aerospace interests at the behest of the South Korean government following the financial troubles of these companies that had resulted from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
KOMPSAT-1, also known as Arirang-1, was a satellite created by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and launched by a United States launch vehicle on 21 December 1999. This was the first satellite built primarily by South Korean engineers, although previous foreign-built satellites had been launched by Korean companies. It took its name from the popular Korean folk song Arirang.
Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme, managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the EU Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Frontex, SatCen and Mercator Océan.
SAOCOM is an Earth observation satellite constellation of Argentina's space agency CONAE. Two satellites are already orbiting the Earth in a Sun-synchronous orbit. The second one was launched on 30 August 2020.
KOMPSAT-2, also known as Arirang-2, is a South Korean multipurpose Earth observation satellite. It was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 07:45:43 UTC on 28 July 2006. It began to transmit signals at 14:00 UTC the same day. Like the earlier KOMPSAT-1 satellite, it takes its name from the popular Korean folk song Arirang. Its launch was the culmination of a project begun in 1995.
KOMPSAT-3, also known as Arirang-3, is a South Korean multipurpose Earth observation satellite. It was launched from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan at 16:39 UTC on 17 May 2012. Like the earlier KOMPSAT-1 and KOMPSAT-2 satellites, it takes its name from the popular Korean folk song Arirang. Its launch was the culmination of a project begun in 1995.
EarthCARE, nicknamed Hakuryū, is a joint European/Japanese satellite, the sixth of ESA's Earth Explorer Programme. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.
SEOSat-Ingenio, was a Spanish project to produce a satellite capable of providing wide-field imagery ensuring a repeat cycle of 38 days at 2.5 metre panchromatic resolution and 10 metre colour resolution, from a Sun-synchronous polar orbit; it was Spain's first optical imaging satellite. The satellite was part of the Spanish Earth Observation Satellite program. The mission was funded by Spain's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI). SEOSat-Ingenio information was to be used by various Spanish civil, institutional or government users. However, under the Copernicus Programme of the European Union, it was also accessible to other European users, as well as to the Group on Earth observation of the Global Observing System of Earth.
Vega C, or Vega Consolidation, is an expendable small-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace and developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility. Development began after the December 2014 ESA Ministerial Council to address the need to accommodate larger institutional payloads and compete with more affordable launch providers.
Biomass is an Earth observing satellite planned for launch by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2024 on a Vega launch vehicle.
Satrec Initiative Co., Ltd. or SI is a South Korean satellite manufacturing company headquartered in Daejeon, South Korea The company was founded in 1999 by the engineers who developed the first Korean satellite (KITSAT-1) at KAIST SaTRec. The company designs and builds Earth observation satellites called SpaceEye-series, and it provides various space components, including high resolution electro-optical payloads and star-trackers. SI's first satellite was a Malaysian Earth observation satellite, RazakSAT launched in 2009. SI has two subsidiaries: SI Imaging Services (SIIS) is the exclusive image data provider of KOMPSAT-series, and SI Analytics (SIA) provides AI-native GEOINT solutions for satellite imagery. SI also spun-off SI Detection (SID), which provides radiation monitoring solutions.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026.
Spaceflight in 2025 promises to follow the 2020s trend of record breaking orbital launches and increased developments in lunar, Mars and low-earth orbit exploration.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2027.
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