This mission marks the first Nuri flight since May 2023 and the fourth since the program began in 2021, following earlier attempts and failures.

Future launches are planned for 2026 and 2027 as part of Korea’s multi-year effort to advance space tech, reduce reliance on foreign launch services, and close the gap with Asia’s leading space powers.

KASA Administrator Yoon Young-bin highlighted the mission as a milestone for the agency’s development and for the collaborative approach that accompanied this flight.

President Lee Jae-myung emphasized that private-sector involvement demonstrates Korea’s scientific and technological independence and will underpin future generations.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries operated the launchpad, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute streamed the event, underscoring private-sector participation across the launch process.

Science Minister Kyunghoon Bae called the mission a turning point for Korea’s space sector, noting that Hanwha Aerospace assembled the rocket under a technology transfer from KARI.

This mission marks the first time Hanwha Aerospace oversees rocket production, assembly, and supply-chain management, with KARI in a supervisory role as Korea shifts toward private-sector leadership.

The government transferred technology to Hanwha Aerospace to boost private-sector capabilities in space and strengthen Korea’s aerospace competitiveness.

Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon articulated Korea’s goal to become a top-five space power, pursuing next-generation launch vehicles and ambitions for Moon and deep-space exploration.

A brief delay occurred due to an abnormal pressure sensor signal on the umbilical, shifting liftoff from early evening to late night, but the launch proceeded successfully.

Industry context notes SpaceX’s dominance and a global supply gap in medium-to-large launch services, which Korea aims to fill with competitive options for international operators.

In a rare nighttime launch, Korea’s three-stage Nuri rocket lifted off and placed the 516-kilogram primary satellite, CAS500-3, along with 12 CubeSats into a roughly 600-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, with CAS500-3 successfully contacting a ground station in Antarctica about 40 minutes after liftoff.