The era of space exploration has arrived in Korea. Not long after launching 'Nuriho' equipped with its own technology, the company developed and manufactured 'Danuri,' Korea's first lunar exploration spacecraft, and successfully sent it into its target orbit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (hereinafter 'MSIT') announced that the lunar orbiter 'Danuri' was launched from the Space Force base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at around 8:08 a.m. on the 5th, and confirmed that it successfully entered a lunar transfer orbit after 2 p.m.

Danuri separated from SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle at an altitude of about 703 km at around 8:48, and successfully made its first contact with the ground station at around 9:40, about 92 minutes after launch.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (hereinafter 'KARI') analyzed launch vehicle separation information, such as separation speed and direction, received from SpaceX at the Danuri control center located within KARI, and confirmed that Danuri successfully separated from the launch vehicle and entered its target orbit.

In addition, analysis of the received satellite data revealed that Danuri's solar panels have deployed and begun power generation, and that communication between devices, including the onboard computer, is proceeding smoothly while the temperatures of each device remain within the standard range, indicating that Danuri is operating normally.

In the future, Danuri will move toward a point where the Sun and Earth's gravity are balanced to minimize fuel consumption, and then activate its thrusters around September 2nd to adjust its direction.

It is expected to arrive at the Moon in mid-December 2022 after a journey of approximately 4.5 months. Subsequently, it will enter a lunar mission orbit by the end of December. Starting in January 2023, it will orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 km and perform its full-scale mission for about a year. It plans to carry out missions such as searching for lunar landing sites, lunar scientific research (analysis of surface minerals, observation of magnetic fields and radiation, etc.), and verification of space internet technology.

Danuri is Korea's first lunar orbiter, developed since 2016 in accordance with the National Space Development Mid-to-Long-Term Plan. Through the development of Danuri, it is expected that Korea will be able to secure the orbital operation capability of the Ballistic Lunar Transfer (BLT) system necessary for deep space navigation. In addition, the high-capacity thrust propulsion system has been localized, and a large 35-meter diameter deep space communication antenna, essential for deep space communication, has been constructed, thereby establishing the foundation necessary for full-scale future space exploration.

This Danuri is equipped with six payloads, and excluding the NASA payload (ShadowCam), the five scientific payloads were directly developed by domestic research institutions and academia, including the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and Kyung Hee University.

Oh Tae-seok, First Vice Minister of Science and ICT, stated, “Danuri is the first lunar orbiter manufactured by Korea, and along with the development of Nuriho, it will elevate our country’s international standing in the space sector and provide an opportunity to leap forward as a space power.” He added, “The technology secured through the development of Danuri and the scientific data obtained through its mission operations are expected to significantly contribute to Korea’s future lunar science research as well as raise public interest in space development.”