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SpaceX launches South Korea's 1st-ever moon mission, lands rocket at sea
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danuri, lifted off today (Aug. 4) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off South Korea's first-ever deep-space mission.
Science & Tech
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) lifted off today (Aug. 4) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, kicking off South Korea's first-ever deep-space mission and setting the stage for more ambitious moon efforts down the road.
KPLO, also known as Danuri, "will be the first step for ensuring and verifying [South Korea's] capability of space exploration," officials with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which is managing the mission, said in a statement (opens in new tab).
This first step will lead toward a robotic moon landing by 2030, if all goes according to plan — a milestone that will be huge for South Korea. "Lunar exploration will enhance the space technologies of Korea, increase the value of Korea and stimulate pride [in] Korean[s]," the KARI statement added.
The Falcon 9 rose off a pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 7:08 p.m. EDT (2308 GMT). The rocket's two stages separated 2.5 minutes after launch and went their separate ways. The first stage came down for a pinpoint landing on the SpaceX droneship "Just Read the Instructions" nine minutes after liftoff. It was the sixth touchdown to date for the veteran booster, SpaceX said in a mission description (opens in new tab).
The second stage continued carrying KPLO into the sky, ultimately deploying the spacecraft into a ballistic lunar transfer orbit as planned 40 minutes after liftoff. But KPLO still has a long way to go; it will take a long, looping and very fuel-efficient route to the moon, finally slipping into lunar orbit in mid-December. That orbit will be circular and just 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the moon's gray dirt.
KPLO's lunar arrival will come about a month after that of NASA's tiny CAPSTONE probe, which launched in late June and is taking a similarly circuitous path to Earth's nearest neighbor.