KOMPSAT-1 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-1), also known as Arirang-1, was a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

created by the

Korea Aerospace Research Institute The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), established in 1989, is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea. Its main laboratories are located in Daejeon, in the Daedeok Science Town. KARI's vision is to continue building upon indig ...

(KARI) and launched by a United States

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

on 21 December 1999. This was the first satellite built primarily by South Korean engineers, although previous foreign-built satellites had been launched by Korean companies. It took its name from the popular Korean folk song Arirang.

Instruments

It carried an Electro-Optical Camera (EOC) able to distinguish objects with a diameter of with a footprint of 17 km. The satellite carried

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

instruments for providing digital cartography of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and status of

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...

. Also included was the Ionospheric Measurement Sensor (IMS) to monitor

ionospheric The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an im ...

parameters along the satellite orbit and the High Energy Particles Detector (HEPD).

High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD)

The High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) instrument consists of a

Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

and

Electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

Spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...

(PES), a Linear Energy transfer Spectrometer (LET), a Total Dose Monitor (TDM), and a Single Event Monitor (SEM), PES measures protons from 6.4

MeV In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV, also written electron-volt and electron volt) is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating from rest through an Voltage, electric potential difference of one volt i ...

to 38 MeV in 3 energy channels, electrons from 0.25 MeV to <2.0 MeV in 3 energy channels, and

alpha particle Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay, but may also be produce ...

s from 15 MeV to 60 MeV in an energy channel. LET measures linear energy transfer. TDM measures total ionizing dose of

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

accumulated on RADFET

dosimeter A radiation dosimeter is a device that measures dose uptake of external ionizing radiation. It is worn by the person being monitored when used as a personal dosimeter, and is a record of the radiation dose received. Modern electronic personal dos ...

s. SEM measures single event upset (SEU).

Ionospheric Measurement Sensor (IMS)

The Ionospheric Measurement Sensor (IMS) is composed of a

Langmuir probe A Langmuir probe is a device used to determine the electron temperature, electron density, and electric potential of a plasma. It works by inserting one or more electrodes into a plasma, with a constant or time-varying electric potential between ...

(LP) and of the Electron Temperature Probe (ETP) developed by K. Oyama ( Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan). LP measures the in-situ electron temperature and density and ETP measures the in-situ electron temperature and floating potential. The instrument monitored the variation of the nighttime ionosphere along the satellite track until the unexpected power failure of the probes on 2 August 2001.

Launch

The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on a Taurus 2110. It had been built in Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The parts were shipped in three stages from Korea to California by First Express International, a Korean shipping firm. The KOMPSAT-1 was succeeded by the KOMPSAT-2 in 2006.

Mission

On 30 December 2007, the KARI reported that they had lost contact with the satellite. It is suspected to have had a malfunction that has affected power generation. After the loss of contact with the satellite, the mission was formally ended 31 January 2008.

References

External links

Profile of Korean space program by The Korea Times
{{Authority control Satellites of South Korea Satellites orbiting Earth Spacecraft launched in 1999