The rocket<\/a> deployed KOMPSAT-7 on schedule about 44 minutes after liftoff, into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) 358 miles (576 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n Best picks for you<\/p>\n \n An Arianespace Vega C rocket launches South Korea\u2019s KOMPSAT-7 Earth-observing satellite from Kourou, French Guiana, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Image credit: Arianespace)<\/p>\n Spacecraft in SSOs circle Earth’s poles and pass over the same patch of the planet at the same solar time each day. This ensures consistent lighting conditions at each of those spots, making SSOs popular destinations for Earth-observing missions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 3,990-pound (1,810-kilogram) KOMPSAT-7 was built by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. It’s the successor to KOMPSAT-3A, which launched to Earth<\/a> orbit in March 2015.<\/p>\n The new satellite will be “one of the world\u2019s most advanced ultra-high-resolution optical satellites,” according to the press kit provided by the France-based company Arianespace, which operates the Vega C.<\/p>\n “It is designed to support detailed observation of the Korean Peninsula and to meet the growing national demand for high-quality satellite<\/a> imagery,” adds the press kit, which you can find here<\/a>.<\/p>\n KOMPSAT-7 also features “optical data transmission technology<\/a> \u2014 a first for a Korean satellite \u2014 to enable real-time processing of large-volume Earth-observation imagery via electro-optical modules and onboard storage\/processing systems,” Arianespace wrote.<\/p>\n Today’s mission, which Arianespace called VV28, was the sixth for the four-stage, 115-foot-tall (35-meter-tall) Vega C, which was developed by the European Space Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aZj26kUqScTpc5UaTTRj3m.jpg\")
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