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KT Sat’s Mugunghwa-7 satellite was launched from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana aboard a rocket made by French aerospace company Arianespace, according to the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
The launch had originally been pencilled in for March, but strikes in French Guiana delayed it until this month (May 2017).
The satellite has been earmarked for offering LTE technology to the Asia region, with operations set to start in July, according to a report from the Yonhap News Agency.
Mugunghwa-7, which is also being named Korea Sat-7, is designed with a 15 year lifespan and equipped with Ku-band (36MHz) and Ka-band (200MHz) technology that will offer connectivity in Korea, the Phillipines, Indonesia, and India.
"The ICT ministry already completed the registration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) so that the Mugunghwa-7 is successfully launched and operated," said Choi Yeong-hae, an ICT official in charge of the project.
It is the fourth satellite to be launched by KT Sat, following the launches of Korea Sat-5, Korea Sat-6 and Chollian. The Korean operator said it also has plans for a fifth launch, Korea Sat-5A, in Q3, with the aim of becoming a global satellite provider in the next three years.
“With the successful launch, we are able to provide services in Indochina and Indonesia, which are growing markets. The Korea Sat-7 will be a starting point to make KT SAT become a global satellite provider,” said Han Won-sik, CEO of KT Sat.