S.Korea’s 1st military satellite to be launched this week: report
The Anasis-II satellite is scheduled to lift off from Florida on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket by U.S.-based commercial space firm SpaceX on Tuesday (Seoul time), according to the Space Launch Schedule.
«The status of the launch is GREEN with a 70 percent chance for favorable weather conditions,» the website said.
Anasis-II was originally scheduled to launch in early July, but the blastoff was pushed back to July 14, July 20 and then to Tuesday, according to multiple space launch trackers.
Announcing the postponement of the July 14 plan, SpaceX tweeted that it was «to take a closer look at the second stage, swap hardware if needed.»
It then tweeted, «Targeting Monday, July 20 for Falcon 9 launch of ANASIS-II from SLC-40,» based on the California time. SLC refers to space launch complex.
South Korea's arms procurement agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), has refused to officially confirm the launch date, with officials saying they will announce details once it is successfully launched.
«There are many factors to take into consideration for a launch, such as technical issues and weather conditions,» a DAPA official said. «We are closely working with the U.S. side and monitoring related situations.»
The project is part of an offset package for South Korea's purchase of 40 F-35A fighter jets from Lockheed Martin in 2014. Lockheed subcontracted the satellite manufacturing deal in 2016 to Airbus Defense and Space.
Currently, the South Korean military relies on international and civilian-owned satellites for communications.
The satellite is based on the Airbus Eurostar E3000 satellite platform and will provide «secured communications over wide coverage,» according to the manufacturer. Other detailed features were not known.