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Korean multipurpose satellite deployment delayed again amid Italian project setback

Published: 07 Jan. 2026, 11:42 Updated: 07 Jan. 2026, 16:07

An Arirang 7 satellite [YONHAP]

The planned deployment of Korea's latest multipurpose satellite, Arirang 6, has been delayed again amid setbacks in the development of an Italian satellite that was scheduled to be launched together in a single rocket, according to sources Wednesday.

According to the sources, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) has received notification from France-based Arianespace, operator of the Vega-C rocket tasked with deploying Arirang 6, saying the launch will be pushed back to later than the third quarter of 2027.

Sources said the delay came amid setbacks in the development of Italy's Platino 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, which is scheduled to be deployed via the Vega-C together with Arirang 6.

Experts said the delay was apparently unavoidable, as the Vega-C rocket was developed by Italy and thus, the launch schedule would likely prioritize European project timelines.

The 370 billion won ($255 million) Arirang 6, whose assembly was completed in 2022, was originally scheduled to be launched from Russia that year, but Korea commissioned Arianespace as the new launch operator in 2023 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The completed satellite remains in storage at a research institute facility in Daejeon.

Yonhap