Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) Operation: From Design to Initial Results
Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) is South Korea’s first space exploration mission, developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. It aims to develop technologies for lunar exploration, explore lunar science, and test new technologies. KPLO was launched on August 5, 2022, by a Falcon-9 l...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Korean Space Science Society
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.janss.kr/archive/view_article?pid=jass-41-1-43 |
| Summary: | Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) is South Korea’s first space exploration mission, developed by the Korea Aerospace
Research Institute. It aims to develop technologies for lunar exploration, explore lunar science, and test new technologies.
KPLO was launched on August 5, 2022, by a Falcon-9 launch vehicle from cape canaveral space force station (CCSFS) in the
United States and placed on a ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) trajectory. A total of four trajectory correction maneuvers were
performed during the approximately 4.5-month trans-lunar cruise phase to reach the Moon. Starting with the first lunar orbit
insertion (LOI) maneuver on December 16, the spacecraft performed a total of three maneuvers before arriving at the lunar
mission orbit, at an altitude of 100 kilometers, on December 27, 2022. After entering lunar orbit, the commissioning phase
validated the operation of the mission mode, in which the payload is oriented toward the center of the Moon. After completing
about one month of commissioning, normal mission operations began, and each payload successfully performed its planned
mission. All of the spacecraft operations that KPLO performs from launch to normal operations were designed through the
system operations design process. This includes operations that are automatically initiated post-separation from the launch
vehicle, as well as those in lunar transfer orbit and lunar mission orbit. Key operational procedures such as the spacecraft’s
initial checkout, trajectory correction maneuvers, LOI, and commissioning were developed during the early operation
preparation phase. These procedures were executed effectively during both the early and normal operation phases. The
successful execution of these operations confirms the robust verification of the system operation. |
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| ISSN: | 2093-5587 2093-1409 |