South Korea’s multipurpose satellite, the Arirang 7, was successfully launched from a space center in South America and has established initial contact with a ground station. 

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) announced Tuesday that Arirang-7 had been launched onboard the Italian Vega-C rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana at 2:21 a.m. on Tuesday, Korea Standard Time.

The satellite then separated from the rocket and successfully made initial contact with the Troll Ground Station in Antarctica at 3:30 a.m. 

Through this initial communication, KARI confirmed the satellite’s condition, including the deployment of its solar panel.

KARI plans to announce the launch's success after communicating with the ground station four times.

The satellite will provide high-quality images for disaster and environmental monitoring, as well as urban heat island analysis, using its high-resolution optical camera and infrared sensor.