"2005"; the year "zero" of Space Korea

Korea has declared that the year 2005 is the year "zero" for Space Korea. Even though Korea started space development in the 1980s, this year is the turning point. The foundation for space development was constructed by 2004. Upon this foundation, Korea is launching many space development programs concurrently and investing drastically in them. One valuable output will bloom from the foundation this year. In November, KOMPSAT-2 (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-2, nickname, Arirang-2) will be launched using a Russian launcher. It is expected that KOMPSAT-2 will deliver remote sensing images as fine as those from any leading-edge commercial Earth observation satellite. Korean user groups are anticipating using these images for their own research and industrial purposes, such as geographic information, environmental surveillance, forest fire surveillance, urban planning, etc. In all, five national satellite programs are underway in 2005. For this space development, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute has been and will be at the hub to play a key role.