South Korea has successfully launched a precision aviation satellite that can improve the GPS position error to up to 1.0 meters from the current 15-33 meters, marking another milestone after a successful launch of Nuri space rocket earlier this week.

The satellite for the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS), the country’s first GPS location augmentation system, was sent into orbit on a rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou in French Guiana, at 6:50 a.m., and the satellite successfully separated from the rocket at around 7:18 a.m., according to the Korean government.

The Augmentation Satellite Unit 1 is scheduled to move into geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Korean Peninsula about 12 days later. After landing on the orbit, pilot services will begin around December before starting full-fledged operations next year, according to the transport ministry.

The system can improve the GPS position error to 1.0-1.6 meters from the current 15-33 meters in real time to ensure GPS signal reliability and better flight safety throughout the country.

Korea is the seventh country to have a geosynchronous satellite system officially registered with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Signals from the satellite floating in the sky can be accessed freely anytime across Korea. This will help deliver more precise and reliable location information to future mobility location-based service industries such as navigation, drones, autonomous driving, and urban air traffic (UAM).

By Kim Woo-hyun and Minu Kim

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