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How many satellites does South Korea have?

As of October 17, 2026, South Korea owns 79 active satellites, 0.5% of the world's 17,101 and the 9th most of any country. The biggest single group is Neonsat, with 7 satellites (9% of the total).

Active satellites

0.5%

Of the world total

9th

Rank among countries

Launches in 2025

A night-lights map of the Korean peninsula with South Korea brightly lit and North Korea mostly dark — The Korean Peninsula at night, in a NASA satellite image from September 24, 2012. South Korea is brightly lit and North Korea is mostly dark. Image: NASA.

What they do

Earth imaging accounts for 37 of South Korea's active satellites (47%).

Earth imaging37 (46.8%)
Technology demonstration26 (32.9%)
Communications8 (10.1%)
AST/TECH2 (2.5%)
Weather2 (2.5%)
AST/SCI2 (2.5%)

Where they orbit

Lower low Earth orbit (80 to 600 km)62 (78.5%)
Geosynchronous orbit8 (10.1%)
Upper low Earth orbit (600 to 2,000 km)7 (8.9%)
CLO1 (1.3%)
Not assigned1 (1.3%)

Who operates them

The largest operators, and the largest families of satellites, owned by South Korea.

By operator

KAIST15 (19.0%)
KARI12 (15.2%)
Cosmoworks6 (7.6%)
SNU5 (6.3%)
DAPA5 (6.3%)
Nara Space4 (5.1%)

By satellite family

Neonsat7 (8.9%)
JACK6 (7.6%)
Arirang5 (6.3%)
CAS4 (5.1%)
ADD4 (5.1%)

Operator names are as written in GCAT, usually transliterated from the original language. Families group satellites by the first word of their name.

How the fleet has grown

At the end of 2005, South Korea had 6 payloads in Earth orbit. By the end of 2025 it had 72.

Payloads owned by South Korea in Earth orbit at the end of each year, working or not.

Launches

South Korea has made 10 orbital launch attempts since its first in 2009, and 2 of them in 2025. Its busiest year was 2023 with 2.

Orbital launch attempts by South Korea each year. 2026 is partial, through October 16.

Sources and method

GCAT by Jonathan McDowell, CC BY 4.0. Updated October 17, 2026. Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat).
Active means GCAT lists the satellite as working or possibly still transmitting, a status GCAT says is often a guess. Ownership is by the owner's country, not the launch country.