South Korea launched a rocket on Wednesday that reportedly put a scientific satellite in orbit, marking the first time that the country has successfully placed a satellite in space from its own territory, reported the Los Angeles Times. This makes South Korea the 13th nation with this capability, according to the Times’ Jan. 30 report. The Naro launch vehicle blasted off about 4:00 p.m. South Korea time from a space center in Jeolla on the country’s southwestern coast. South Korea has heretofore relied on other nations to place its satellites in orbit. Its previous two attempts to place a satellite in orbit from its territory—the first in 2009 and the second in 2010—both failed, reported Reuters (via NBC News). South Korea’s launch success comes on the heels of North Korea’s mid-December launch of an Unha-3 rocket that also reportedly succeeded in orbiting a small-sized satellite, the first such success for the communist nation.
The Air Force is shoring up its cyber defenses both on and off base for critical infrastructure such as water and electrical power, and industry experts are calling for more, even specialized, dedicated microgrids offsite to support USAF operations in case of a total blackout caused by cyberattacks.
