Koreas multi-purpose satellite Arirang-2 is trying to provide better ination on Dokdo by taking precision airborne pictures.
While testing Arirang-2 equipped with a high-resolution camera, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) on Tuesday (Sept. 5) explained their efforts.
Japan already has the ability to take high-definition satellite pictures of Dokdo but so far we have not. Now things will be different thanks to Arirang-2, KARI director Lee Joo-jin said.
We keep attempting to take pictures of Dokdo and the waters off the island but have failed to do so due to heavy clouds. We will have them soon, he said.
Lee said Arirang-2 will be able to take better images of Dokdo late this month when the 800-kilogram satellite is scheduled to become fully operational.
Satellites are important because they can take snapshots of vast areas surrounding Dokdo, thus providing more precise data on the island Lee said.
The existing satellite Arirang-1 was not reliable because of the low quality of pictures. Japan has had the upper hand in the field, Lee continued.
Indeed, the camera on Arirang-1 identifies a 43.56-square-meter space on the ground as a dot while that on Arirang-2 can recognize an one meter in diameter from 685 kilometers above the ground.
