South Korea declines Russian rockets, Likely to go with SpaceX
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Seoul: South Korea has decided to cancel plans to launch satellites using Russian rockets due to sanctions imposed on Russia's space programmes over the invasion of Ukraine. Government documents indicate that it will go with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The Korea Multipurpose Satellite 6 known as the Arirang 6 was planned to launch on Russia's Angara 1.2 vehicle later this year from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia. A next-generation midsized observational satellite was set to launch in a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
A document submitted to the National Assembly stated that S. Korea has found it difficult to proceed with satellite launches using Russian rockets. The Ministry of Science has asked for an additional budget estimating that the project will cost $61.1 million under the new circumstances.
The East Asian nation will be signing deals with the European Space Agency as well. The terms of its current deals with Moscow remain confidential due to the five-year non-disclosure agreements.