The country's first communications satellite combining civic and military purposes has been successfully launched into orbit.

Mugunghwa-5 lifted off on Tuesday afternoon from the Odyssey launch pad on the high seas south of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

The Agency for Defense Development says the satellite jointly launched by the military and civic sector is the first dual-use satellite to serve both commercial and military. Its service area will cover the Korean Peninsula, Japan, China and the Philippines.

The satellite will enter a geostationary orbit 36-thousand kilometers above sea level and deploy its antenna and solar cells four days after launching.

The main control center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province will begin its ground control a month later and the satellite will begin servicing after another three months.

The Mugunghwa-5 satellite – the nation’s fourth commercial satellite - is also known as Koreasat-5.