# GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A)
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: kma
- **actual launch**: 2018-12-04
- **current status**: operational
- **orbit type**: Geostationary orbit, 35786 km altitude, 128.2 deg E longitude
- **tasking supported**: false
- **current geographic priority**: East Asia and Korean Peninsula
- **launch vehicle**: arianespace-ariane-5
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-14
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: kma
- **attributes**: {"operator":"kma","actual_launch":"2018-12-04","current_status":"operational","orbit_type":"Geostationary orbit, 35786 km altitude, 128.2 deg E longitude","tasking_supported":false,"current_geographic_priority":"East Asia and Korean Peninsula","launch_vehicle":"arianespace-ariane-5"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A, Cheollian-2A) is a Korean operational geostationary meteorological satellite operated by the Korea Meteorological Administration, stationed at 128.2 degrees East at 35,786 km altitude and providing continuous coverage of East Asia and the Korean Peninsula.[^nmsc-gk2a-intro][^wmo-gk2a] Launched on 4 December 2018, the mission carries the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI), a 16-channel visible and infrared imager capable of full-disk imagery every 10 minutes and regional imagery every 2 minutes.[^nmsc-gk2a-readiness][^wmo-ami] GK2A products support weather nowcasting, tropical cyclone tracking, atmospheric wind derivation via atmospheric motion vectors, sea surface temperature, and land surface temperature monitoring across East Asia.[^nmsc-gk2a-readiness][^wmo-ami] GK2A is the meteorological component of the dual-satellite GEO-KOMPSAT-2 programme. The NMSC English introduction page records the launch date as December 5, 2018, while the WMO OSCAR and CEOS EO Handbook give 2018-12-04;[^nmsc-gk2a-intro][^wmo-gk2a][^ceos-gk2a] the difference likely reflects local versus UTC date reporting.

## Compositional position
- GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A) --[mission_payloads]--> ami (products)
- GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A) --[related-topic]--> weather-nowcasting (topics)
- GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A) --[related-topic]--> atmospheric-wind (topics)

## Sources
- [nmsc-gk2a-intro] | NMSC GEO-KOMPSAT-2A introduction | https://nmsc.kma.go.kr/enhome/html/base/cmm/selectPage.do?page=satellite.gk2a.intro | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [nmsc-gk2a-readiness] | NMSC GEO-KOMPSAT-2A user readiness and AMI performance | https://nmsc.kma.go.kr/enhome/html/base/cmm/selectPage.do?page=satellite.gk2a.userReadinessInformation | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [wmo-gk2a] | WMO OSCAR satellite record: GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/geo_kompsat_2a | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [wmo-ami] | WMO OSCAR instrument record: AMI | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/ami | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [ceos-gk2a] | CEOS EO Handbook mission summary: GEO-KOMPSAT-2A | https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=525 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-14

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/geo-kompsat-2a
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)