425 Project SAR satellite [Thales Alenia Space]
Official name KORSAT-2
Alternative name ADD-425-2
Cospar ID 2024-247A
Norad ID 62377
Launch date 2024-12-21
Launch site AFWTR
Launch vehicle Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Country/Organization South Korea
Type application Reconnaissance, radar
Operator South Korea?s Agency for Defence Development
RCS size LARGE
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 96.08
Inclination (deg) 45.41
Perigee (km) 566
Apogee (km) 576
Eccentricity 0.00875656742556918
Mean motion (revs. per day) 14.9875104079933
Semi-Major axis (km) 6949.135
Raan (deg) 275.7715
Arg of perigee (deg) 329.7158
Shape Hex Box + 3 Pan
Mass (kg) 800
Height (m) 2.9
Width (m) 1.9
Depth (m) 1.9
Span (m^2) 6
Contractors Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Systems Corp., Thales Alenia Space (payload)
Equipment SAR
Propulsion ?
Power 4 deployable fixed solar arrays, batteries

The South Korean 425 Project radar satellites are the radar component of the 425 Project reconnaissance satellite project.

The high resolution SAR satellites are being developed by a consortium consisting of Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Systems Corp with Thales Alenia Space providing the SAR payload.

The Thales Alenia Space SAR payload uses a specialized 5-meter antenna folded as 24 petals that will open in space to form a prabolic dish. Additionally TAS provides also the platform elements, especially for Control Momentum Gyro and sensors, derived from their HE-R1000 product (High Efficiency Radar).

In 2022 the SpaceX Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) was chosen as launch vehicles. It is unclear, if dedicated or shared launches will be used.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
KORSAT-1 2024-066L 2024-04-07 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with KORSAT 1, Capella 14, QPS-SAR 7, Centauri 6, Hawk 8A-C, 9A-C, TSAT 1A
KORSAT-2 2024-247A 2024-12-21 AFWTR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with KORSAT 2, Jackal X-2, ICEYE X47, 49, LizzieSat 2, ThinkOrbital F2, Hawk 11A-C, GITAI SC 1, CTC 0, Tomorrow S3, S4, XCUBE 1, CroCube, Djibouti 1B, LASARsat, Pleiades-Orpheus, ONDOSAT-OWL 3, ..., 12