SEOUL—South Korea launched its first lunar orbiter on Friday as it doubles down on its space programs, aiming to land a probe on the moon by 2030.
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri, meaning “enjoy the Moon,” was launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral U.S. Space Force Station at 8:08 a.m. on Friday (23:08 GMT on Thursday), South Korea’s science ministry said.
The 678 kg (1,495 lb) Danuri separated from the projectile about 40 minutes after launch and began communicating with a ground station around 9:40 a.m.
“Analysis of the received information confirmed … Danuri was operating normally,” Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-seog told a briefing, announcing that the orbiter had established a trajectory toward the moon….