S.Korea launches 1st lunar orbiter

Xinhua
05 Aug 2022, 17:30 GMT+10

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea launched its first lunar orbiter, carried by a U.S. rocket, the science ministry said Friday.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, also called Danuri, lifted off at about 8:08 a.m. Korean time (2308 GMT) from Cape Canaveral in the United States, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The lunar orbiter was released from the rocket around 40 minutes after the liftoff at an altitude of about 1,656 km and traveled on a pre-programmed trajectory.

It made the first communications with the ground control station at about 9:40 a.m. Korean time (0040 GMT).

The ministry announced that Danuri successfully entered the ballistic lunar transfer trajectory toward the moon.

It was forecast to take almost five months for the orbiter to reach the moon in order to conduct the country's first space mission beyond the Earth's orbit.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.

More Information

27 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Seletar

Business

Section

Antonio Guterres agrees to hold donors' conference to help Pakistan: Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that Pakistan may need to import over a million tonnes of ...

U.S. stock markets slide amidst turmoil on currency and bond markets

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks had a choppy day Monday, which was marred by severe gyrations in bond ...

100th anniversary of renowned Hollywood sign calls for repaint

HOLLYWOOD, California: Ahead of its 100th anniversary, the world famous Hollywood sign on Mount Lee overlooking Los Angeles is being ...

US Senate targets Facebook, Google for money shared with news groups

WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a bill that will allow news organizations to jointly negotiate with ...

Financial crisis hits Asian markets, British pound collapses

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - An extraordinary plunge in the British pound to an all-time low on Monday has spooked investors, ...

1.1 million Teslas in U.S. recalled for software update

AUSTIN, Texas: Due to increased risks caused by a fault in its automatic window reversal system, electric vehicle maker Tesla ...

Broadcasting

Section