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KASA's K-RadCube sent to space with Artemis II mission

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 19:40 Updated: 06 Apr. 2026, 12:41

The Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, carrying a Korean satellite onboard. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea's first satellite to be part of a crewed space mission, K-RadCube (K-RAD), was launched aboard the Space Launch System rocket as part of NASA’s historic Artemis II mission Thursday morning.

K-RAD, a 12U-class CubeSat developed by Korea and chosen as a secondary payload for the mission, will measure the space radiation environment in High Earth Orbit (HEO), acquiring baseline data that will help assess exposure risks at various altitudes inside the Van Allen belts, regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere that trap large amounts of high energy particles that can damage onboard technology and harm astronauts.

K-RAD’s onboard dosimeter, made of material that mimics human tissue, will measure radiation and analyze its potential biological effects. The satellite also carries semiconductor devices developed by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to verify their resistance to the space environment.

According to the Korea AeroSpace Administration's (KASA) official X account, K-RAD was successfully deployed Thursday afternoon.

The CubeSat will operate at an altitude between 200 and 70,000 kilometers (124 and 43,500 miles), reaching orbit through a water-based propulsion system developed by SteamJet. The satellite will remain in HEO and will not accompany the crewed Orion spacecraft on its lunar flyby.

The launch marks a significant milestone for both the United States and Korea, as it is the first mission to send humans to the vicinity of the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and Korea’s first satellite sent as part of a crewed space mission.

The project and launch represent a global collaboration, tapping a wide range of national industrial partners. Leading agency KASA worked alongside the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, the organization which oversaw the development of the satellite, and Nara Space, which designed and manufactured it. KT SAT is handling ground station infrastructure and satellite operations.

BY MATT ELLIS [[email protected]]