January 9, 2008: After eight years of operation, South Korea lost communication (on the last day of 2007) with its first space satellite; Arirang-1. Or, as it was commonly described, Arirang-1 had disappeared. This bird was only expected to last three years, but until the commo malfunction, it continued to perform. Its cameras only have a 6.5 meter resolution (the latest U.S. spy sats are a thousand times more detailed). In 2006, a second satellite, Arirang-2, was launched, and it had a resolution of one meter. Arirang-1 circles the globe about 14 times a day at an altitude of 685 kilometers. Most likely, Arirang-1 just got old and died, probably from a power system failure. It will probably be declared lost, if communications cannot be restored soon.

South Korea teamed with Israeli firms to develop the cameras for the Arirang series of satellites. South Korea plans to launch a dozen or more additional satellites up in the next two years. South Korea uses Russian launchers to put its satellites into orbit.