Satellite images are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.
An Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
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.
Electro-optical MASINT is a subdiscipline of Measurement and Signature Intelligence, (MASINT) and refers to intelligence gathering activities which bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), or Human Intelligence (HUMINT).
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 or Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite is a series of South Korean multipurpose satellite for Earth observation, communications, meteorological, environmental, agricultural, and oceanographic monitoring applications.
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), also known as Ibuki, is an Earth observation satellite and the world's first satellite dedicated to greenhouse gas monitoring. It measures the densities of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth's atmosphere. The GOSAT was developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and launched on 23 January 2009, from the Tanegashima Space Center. Japan's Ministry of the Environment, and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) use the data to track gases causing the greenhouse effect, and share the data with NASA and other international scientific organizations.
Sentinel-3 is an Earth observation heavy satellite series developed by the European Space Agency as part of the Copernicus Programme. As of 2024, it consists of 2 satellites: Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B. After initial commissioning, each satellite was handed over to EUMETSAT for the routine operations phase of the mission. Two recurrent satellites, Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D, will follow in approximately 2025 and 2028 respectively to ensure continuity of the Sentinel-3 mission.
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.
ADEOS II was an Earth observation satellite (EOS) launched by NASDA, with contributions from NASA and CNES, in December 2002. and it was the successor to the 1996 mission ADEOS I. The mission ended in October 2003 after the satellite's solar panels failed.
The Earth Remote Observation System-A was part of the EROS family of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). This was the first satellite in the series. The satellite was owned and operated by ImageSat International, ImageSat International N.V. (ISI) headquartered at Limassol, Cyprus, and incorporated in the Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands.
The Earth Remote Observation System-B (EROS-B) is the second satellite launched in a series of the EROS family of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). It is owned and operated by ImageSat International N.V. (ISI), in the Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands, with offices in Limassol, Cyprus, and in Tel Aviv, Israel.
DubaiSat-2 is an electro-optical Earth observation satellite built by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) under an agreement with Satrec Initiative, a satellite manufacturing company in South Korea. MBRSC's objective with DubaiSat-2 is to provide electro-optical images, that can be commercialized, for users within the United Arab Emirates and beyond and to develop and implement new technologies not used in DubaiSat-1. MBRSC also intends to continue manpower training for the UAE's space program. 16 UAE engineers have been working on the design, development, testing and manufacturing of the satellite. The participation of the UAE engineers, who are currently working in South Korea, has increased by 100 percent from the DubaiSat-1 project.
The South Korean space program began in earnest in the 1980s when research on space development began. Korea Aerospace Research Institute was established in October 1989, and the Korea AeroSpace Administration was established in May 2024.
Seung Jo Kim is a South Korean aerospace engineer. He has been the current President of Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) since June 2011, where most of the national aerospace systems like aircraft, satellites and rockets are developed. During his tenure, Kim led the development of smart Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the launch of KOMPSAT-3, KOMPSAT-5, STSat-3 and the first Korean space launch vehicle, Naro-1. Before becoming president of KARI, Kim had been a professor of the Engineering College at Seoul National University since 1986. He chaired the KSAS in 2009, the KSCM from 2005 to 2006, and the KSIAM from 2004 to 2008. He was also head of the New Aerospace Technology Research Institute from 2001 to 2003. Kim has been a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) since 2010 and the Institute of Physics since 2004.
Gaofen is a series of Chinese high-resolution Earth imaging satellites launched as part of the China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS) program. CHEOS is a state-sponsored, civilian Earth-observation program used for agricultural, disaster, resource, and environmental monitoring. Proposed in 2006 and approved in 2010, the CHEOS program consists of the Gaofen series of space-based satellites, near-space and airborne systems such as airships and UAVs, ground systems that conduct data receipt, processing, calibration, and taskings, and a system of applications that fuse observation data with other sources to produce usable information and knowledge.
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.
İMECE is an Earth observation satellite designed and developed by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and produced in Turkey to provide high resolution imagery.
NEXTSat-1 is a small satellite developed by the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center in South Korea.
KOMPSAT-5, also known as Arirang-5, is an South Korean observation satellite launched by Korea Aerospace Research Institute on August 22, 2013. It is a low-orbit satellite with an operational orbit of 550 km.
