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"3,2,1, zero, ignition and lift off."

This could be just another rocket launch for many but for South Korea it means a great deal.
Among the 59 spacecraft inside the SpaceX Falcon 9, on Wednesday, is South Korea's first ever civilian-operated satellite, the Sejong 1.
Hancom InSpace in cooperation with U.S. company Spire Global developed the satellite.
While South Korean companies have developed and exported compact satellites such as Sejong-1 in the past Hancom is the first firm to be operating one.
Until now, all satellite operations had been under control of the government.
Hancom confirmed that about 75 minutes after launch it was able to establish a connection.
And in terms of size, Sejong-1 is 20 centimeters wide, 10 in length and 30 in height.
It weighs 10.8 kilograms and orbits the Earth 12 to 14 times a day, completing an orbit every 90 minutes at 500 kilometers above Earth.
The satellite uses a five meter-resolution observation camera.
The images and clips can be sold to customers that need analyses on large areas of land such as countries that depend on farming and other agricultural business.


"We won't stop here. Sejong-2 will come later in 2022. We plan on having up to 5 satellites by 2023 to have a satellite constellation. It will enhance timing and resolution. We'll have daily observations of the Korean Peninsula."

The industry is only expected to get bigger with Allied Market Research saying by 2030, the global small satellite market is expected to surpass 13-billion U.S. dollars.
Sejong-1 is just the start for South Korean companies.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.