KOMPSAT-3

The second payload for this flight is KOMPSAT-3. Its full name is Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite 3 Project. KOMPSAT-3 is a powerful Earth observation satellite. The project is managed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Mission Planning for KOMPSAT-3 started in 2004. The satellite uses the technology obtained through the KOMPSAT-1 and KOMPSAT-2 missions. The Spacecraft will operate in a 685-Kilometer Orbit with an on-orbit lifetime of 4 years. The satellite has a liftoff mass of about 800 Kilograms. Images provided by the optical instrument will have a resolution of less than 1 meter. Imagery acquired via KOMPSAT-3 will be used for Geographical Information Systems and other environmental, agricultural and oceanographic monitoring applications. The optical instrument was built by Astrium. Maximum Resolution is 0.7 meters. The optical instrument supports data rates of up to 3.84Gbytes per second. The optics suite has a focal length of 8.6 meters and an image plane diameter of 0.22 meters.