Overview
- CAS500-2, which lifted off early Sunday from Vandenberg on a Falcon 9, separated about an hour after launch and made first contact with a Svalbard ground station roughly 15 minutes later.
- The mission flew as a 45-payload rideshare with the Korean spacecraft as the primary passenger bound for a sun-synchronous orbit at about 498 kilometers.
- Built by Korea Aerospace Industries, the 534-kilogram satellite carries optical sensors that can capture 0.5-meter black-and-white and 2-meter color images for land management and disaster response.
- Korean officials said the flight marks progress for a private-led satellite program after the mission shifted from a planned 2022 Soyuz launch because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut off access to that rocket.
- SpaceX used veteran booster B1071 on its 33rd flight and targeted a return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg, and the company warned Central Coast residents they might hear sonic booms during the landing attempt.