KOMPSAT-5

KOMPSAT-5 (also known as Arirang-5) is a South Korean Earth observation satellite operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Launched on 22 August 2013 into a sun-synchronous dawn-dusk orbit at approximately 550 km altitude, the mission carries an X-band synthetic aperture radar (COSI) and a secondary GNSS radio occultation payload (AOPOD). COSI provides 100 km swath coverage with a 28-day repeat cycle for all-weather, day-and-night surface imaging, supporting applications including disaster damage assessment, oil spill detection, and sea ice monitoring.^[1][2][3] AOPOD provides atmospheric profiling via GNSS radio occultation.^[2] Originally designed for a five-year operational life, KOMPSAT-5 has operated beyond its planned end-of-life date; WMO OSCAR records the satellite as operational as of 2026, while the original design EOL was set at 2018.^[1][2]