SpaceX launches South Korea’s first moon mission, an orbiter named Danuri
By Editor - Fri Aug 05, 1:46 pm
South Korea is headed for the moon. Last night, the country launched its first-ever lunar mission—in fact, its first-ever mission beyond low Earth orbit. Formerly called the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), the mission, managed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), is now named Danuri, a play on the Korean words for “moon” and “enjoy.” Its primary goal is to test South Korea’s lunar spacecraft technology before it makes a bid to land on the surface, tentatively in 2030 if all goes well. Danuri launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:08 p.m. EDT on August 4, with the rocket’s booster landing successfully on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” just a few minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft is now on a very circuitous route to the moon.
View original post here:
SpaceX launches South Korea’s first moon mission, an orbiter named Danuri