South Korea launched its first orbital mission of the year on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, sending 15 satellites skyward aboard the homegrown Nuri rocket from the Naro Space Center. Liftoff occurred at 11:25 p.m. EDT, translating to 0325 GMT and 12:25 p.m. local time on October 7. The state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute confirmed that all but one of the payloads reached low Earth orbit as planned during the fifth-ever flight of the launch vehicle.
Fifteen Satellites Target Orbit Above the Korean Peninsula
Five of the payloads aboard the rocket are microsatellites built for South Korea’s New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety, abbreviated as NEONSAT. Each of these spacecraft weighs less than 100 kilograms and carries an electro-optical camera designed to distinguish objects down to 1 meter in black-and-white images and 4 meters in color. Yonhap news agency reported prior to launch that these satellites will monitor the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions for national security and disaster response.
This mission follows two earlier NEONSAT launches carried out by Rocket Lab Electron vehicles. The first spacecraft in the network went up in April 2024, followed by the second in January of this year. According to Yonhap, five additional satellites will launch on a future Nuri flight next year to complete the constellation.
Cubesat Deployment Hikup on Flight Number Five
Alongside the NEONSAT microsatellites, the Nuri vehicle carried 10 cubesats provided by various operators. While nine of those secondary payloads separated cleanly from the rocket, one experienced a deployment failure. The PERSAT02 cubesat, developed by the South Korean company Quaternion, failed to deploy as scheduled, according to a post published by KARI on X about two hours after liftoff.
KARI reported that the vehicle successfully reached its target sun-synchronous orbit and separated the main group of payloads, including five NEONSAT 2 through 6 units. Ground controllers at the Sejong Station in Antarctica established initial contact with the sixth NEONSAT satellite at approximately 1:08 p.m. local time on October 7.
Nuri Rocket Extends Streak After 2021 Setback
Standing 155 feet tall, the three-stage Nuri—officially designated the Korean Space Launch Vehicle-II or KSLV-II—is South Korea’s first fully homegrown orbital launcher. Jointly operated by KARI and Hanwha Aerospace, the rocket suffered a failure during its maiden flight in October 2021. Tuesday’s mission marks the fourth success for the vehicle since that initial setback.
KARI noted in its post-launch statement that the flight demonstrated an enhanced capability to deploy multiple distinct satellites into precise orbits during a single mission. The agency thanked citizens for their continued support.
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