S. Korea secures US$22 mln in sales of satellite images in 2008

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea signed three contracts worth US$22 million in 2008 to provide high-resolution images taken from its Arirang 2 multipurpose satellite, the government said Monday.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the deals were signed with
the European Space Agency (ESA) and two foreign defense and intelligence-related
organizations that cannot be identified.
Arirang 2 was launched in July 2006 and currently circles the Earth 14 times a
day at an average altitude of 685 kilometers. The multi-spectral camera has a
resolution of 1 square meter for black-and-white photos that is sufficient to
distinguish individual cars on the ground. Only a handful of countries have
satellites with such high-quality resolution.
"The sales are a testament to the high quality pictures taken by the satellite
and confidence shown by foreign users of the country's imaging technology," said
a ministry official.
He said the three-year contract with the ESA is worth around $3.16 million, with
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) -- the operator of the satellite --
providing 10 image downlinks per day through the Svalbard Kongberg Sattellite
Service station in Norway.
The ministry added that individual sales could also be made through KARI to South
Korean users and France's Spot Image company.
It said 613 photos were provided to 69 organizations in South Korea alone and
expected numbers to go up as demand for up-to-date photos are on the increase for
advertising and emergency response purposes, as well as efforts by the government
to update its geographical information system.
South Korea, meanwhile, plans to launch three more multi-purpose satellites
between now and 2012 that will have both civilian and military applications.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

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