Arianespace has been selected by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to launch KOMPSAT-7. Stephane Israël, Arianespace CEO, and Lim Cheol-Ho, President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), signed the KOMPSAT-7 launch contract to this effect on 20 September 2018. The launch will take place using a Vega C rocket flying from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana with the intial launch being targeted for December 2021 at the earliest.
Artist’s impression of Vega-C in flight. Courtesy: ESA
Developed by KARI at its facility in Daejeon, South Korea, KOMPSAT-7 will weigh approximately 2,000 kg. at launch, and will be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit. KOMPSAT-7 is the follow-up model of KOMPSAT-3A whose mission is to provide high-resolution satellite images to satisfy South-Korea’s governmental and institutional needs.
Vega C will join the Arianespace’s family of launch vehicles with its launches beginning in 2019.
