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SpaceX to launch five South Korean military satellites by 2025
South Korea is deepening its relationship with SpaceX with a contract to launch at least five military reconnaissance satellites on Falcon 9 rockets by the end of 2025.
Known as the “425 Project,” South Korea intends to operate its own small constellation of five new Earth observation satellites: four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites and one electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) satellite. All five would help ensure the near-continuous observation of sites of interest in North Korea, nominally allowing for new observations to be made at least every two hours. In a boon to South Korea’s aerospace industry, the country intends to domestically design and manufacture most or all aspects of those spacecraft. Developing domestic aerospace solutions has been a significant industrial priority for the country in recent years.
As a result, South Korea’s first stab at a domestic satellite constellation probably won’t produce record-breaking results. Publicly, the goal is to develop satellites with a maximum resolution of 0.3-0.5 meters (1-1.6 ft) per pixel – similar to the publicly established capabilities of most modern mid-sized Earth observation satellites. However, the classified capabilities of the US military and US spy agencies may offer several times that resolving power. South Korea is a close ally of the United States and likely benefits significantly from shared US intelligence. But it’s still no surprise that a country with such a belligerent neighbor would want to own and operate its own fleet of reconnaissance satellites and have the ability to independently produce its own spacecraft.
On top of working on those spacecraft, South Korea has also been developing a fully domestic orbital launch capability. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) attempted to launch the first fully completed Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-2) – also known as Nuri – in October 2021 but fell just short of orbit after its first and second stages performed nominally but its third stage ran into pressurization issues. Nuri is scheduled to return to flight as early as June 15th, 2022. Once operational, the South Korean rocket is designed to launch up to 2.6 tons (~5700 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO) and 1.5 tons (~3300 lb) to a slightly higher sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
South Korea’s decision to manifest its 425 Project satellites on SpaceX rockets thus raises some questions about South Korea’s confidence in – or plans to use – its own homegrown launch capabilities. Assuming Nuri more or less meets its performance goals and successfully reaches orbit during its second launch attempt in mid-2022, both of which seem plausible, the rocket would likely be more than capable of beginning operational launches no later than 2023. In fact, South Korea says that its EO/IR satellite – scheduled to launch first – will weigh around 800 kilograms (~1750 lb), making it a near-perfect fit for Nuri’s first operational launch. Such a small payload would give the rocket a large safety margin to account for any unexpected performance losses.
Instead, South Korea has decided to launch all five spacecraft on SpaceX rockets. SpaceX already has a solid relationship with the country: the company recently launched its Lockheed Martin-built ANASIS-II military communications satellite and is scheduled to launch KARI’s Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) – South Korea’s first mission beyond Earth orbit – no earlier than August 2022.
It’s unclear if SpaceX will launch South Korea’s ‘425’ satellites individually on dedicated Falcon 9s, as rideshare payloads alongside other paying customers, or – in the case of the four SAR satellites – in batches of two or four. KPLO will be a Falcon 9 rideshare payload, making it clear that South Korea is happy to exploit cost-effective rideshare launches – though that calculus may change for military payloads. Regardless, South Korea’s latest contract won’t hurt SpaceX’s commercial manifest, which currently includes around 75 publicly-acknowledged Falcon launches.
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Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
