Created 7-Aug-22
Modified 13-Dec-23
On Thursday, August 4 at 7:08 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched KPLO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the sixth launch and landing of this booster, which previously supported the launch of Arabsat-6A, STP-2, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2, and two Starlink missions.
The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), officially Danuri, is a planned lunar orbiter by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) of South Korea. The orbiter, its science payload and ground control infrastructure, are technology demonstrators. The orbiter will also be tasked with surveying lunar resources such as water ice, uranium, helium-3, silicon, and aluminium, and produce a topographic map to help select future lunar landing sites.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster touched down on SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read The Instructions positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photos taken from LC-39 Observation Gantry - a distance of about 3.5 miles.
© Dennis Huff
