South Korea's new multipurpose satellite deployed successfully from a space rocket after its launch from a Russian site Thursday.
The Multipurpose Satellite-3A (KOMSAT-3A) was launched at Thursday early morning from the Yasny launch base, located some 1,800 kilometers southeast of Moscow, according to the Yonhap news agency,.
A radio communication between the satellite and South Korea's ground station was established at 1:05 pm. KST, or 5 hours and 57 minutes after its launch, according to officials from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
"We may conclude that the launch and deployment of the KOMSAT-3 have been successful following its successful communication with the country's ground station in Daejeon," Choi Seok-won, a KARI official in charge of the satellite program, said.
The KOMSAT-3A is equipped with an optical lens with the highest resolution so far on any South Korean satellite that can provide clear images of any object greater than 0.5 meter in diameter on the Earth's surface.
It is also equipped with an infrared sensor that can detect changes in temperature, enabling it to monitor any volcanic movements or forest fires.
Together with the KOMSAT-5, the country's first science satellite with synthetic aperture radar launched in August 2013, the new satellite will help enable 24-hour monitoring of the Earth's surface regardless of weather conditions, KARI officials said.