Korea's Nuri rocket to carry 1st microsatellite constellation in 5th launch

Korea's homegrown Nuri rocket will carry 15 satellites on its fifth launch next month, including five satellites that will form part of the country's first domestically launched microsatellite constellation, the space agency said Tuesday. The launch is scheduled for Oct. 7 between 12:23 p.m. and 1:23 p.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, with the exact time to be decided on launch day, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said. The payload consists of five New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety (NEONSAT) as the primary payload and 10 CubeSats as secondary payloads. The five NEONSATs weigh about 500 kilograms combined, while the CubeSats weigh about 96 kilograms. The mission will be Nuri's first attempt to deploy multiple satellites performing the same mission sequentially into orbit. To prevent collisions, the five NEONSATs will be released in different directions at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds. "On its fifth launch, the Nuri rocket will attempt Korea's first satellite constellation launch mission," Park J