KASA Administrator Oh Tae-seog unveiled the roadmap at a cabinet meeting. Nuri's 11th launch will put four electro-optical satellites for the military's micro-satellite system into orbit. It is the first defense payload assigned to the rocket.
Nuri's success rate would reach 90 percent by the 11th flight if every launch before it succeeds.
Satellites "are likely to become key military assets," President Lee Jae Myung said at the meeting, urging a sharp increase in investment in rockets and satellites tied to national security.
The 12th launch in 2032 will carry three companion satellites for Arirang 8, a synthetic aperture radar satellite. Arirang 8 will be the first Korean satellite to use a multistatic setup, in which radar signals are transmitted and received on separate platforms.
Before then, Nuri will loft micro-satellites Nos. 7 to 11 in the second half of 2027, the fifth next-generation medium satellite in 2028 and a lunar-orbit communications satellite in 2029.
Two flights in 2030 will carry two low Earth orbit communications satellites and a small lunar lander.
The rocket flew for the fifth time on Oct. 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung. It carried a record 15 satellites and, for the first time, a payload of more than 1 ton. The five micro-satellites on board sent back their first Earth images about 14.5 hours after liftoff.
AJP Takeaways
- The Korea AeroSpace Administration said on Oct. 20, 2026, that the Nuri rocket will launch four military EO satellites on its 11th flight in 2031, its first defense payload.
- The government plans to launch national satellites on Nuri at least once a year through 2032, including three Arirang-8 companion satellites in 2032.
- Nuri's fifth launch on Oct. 7, 2026, carried a record 15 satellites and its first payload of more than 1 ton.
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