Danuri set for moon mission, to launch Thursday in Florida

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danuri, is set for launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:08 pm on Thursday, Friday morning at 8:08 in Korea.

Space X Falcon X launch vehicle, which will carry Korea's first lunar orbiter into space, is ready at the launch site at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Wednesday, local time. [MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

Korea’s first lunar orbiter is ready for lift-off, the science ministry said Thursday.

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danuri, is set for launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:08 pm on Thursday, Friday morning at 8:08 in Korea.

If the 678-kilogram (1,495-pound) satellite successfully reaches the target orbit and completes its one-year mission, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) will be the seventh space agency to put a satellite into orbit around the moon, following those of Russia, the United States, Japan, the European Union, China and India.

An image of Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or Danuri [KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE]

Danuri will be carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The Falcon 9 first-stage rocket, which has been used five times prior to the Friday launch, will carry only the Danuri orbiter and no other satellite payload this time.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Falcon 9 rocket is standing in an upright position at the launch site, with Danuri placed atop the rocket after going through pre-launch checks, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Danuri will be separated from the rocket 40 minutes after the launch, 1,655 kilometers (1,028 miles) above Earth, and whether the orbiter reaches targeted orbit to reach the moon will be determined in about five to six hours by KARI.

The satellite is scheduled to arrive at the moon on Dec. 16, and it will circle it for about a year at an altitude of 100 kilometers, taking pictures of the lunar surface and testing interplanetary internet communications.

Shipped in a container, Danuri departed from the KARI headquarters in Daejeon on July 4, and arrived at the Cape Canaveral station on July 7. The launch, which was originally scheduled for Aug. 3 Wednesday, has been delayed by two days as SpaceX found a maintenance issue during the inspection process. The problem has been fixed, said KARI.

The KPLO mission will be the country's first big step into deep space exploration. Since 2016, when the program was established, over 236.7 billion won ($180.7 million) has been poured into the mission.

“It took a long time for us to get here with many people’s support and hard work,” said Kim Dae-kwan, senior researcher and head of the KLPO project at KARI, during an interview with the press at the launch site in Florida on Wednesday local time. “But this will be only a beginning of a long journey.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]