GEO-KOMPSAT 3 (GK 3, Cheollian 3)

GEO-KOMPSAT 3 [KARI]

GEO-KOMPSAT 3 or Cheollian 3 (천리안 3) is a South Korean geostationary communications satellite developed for the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) equipped with multiple payloads to support broadband communications, navigation augmentation, and environmental monitoring.

The primary mission objectives of GEO-KOMPSAT 3 include providing disaster and emergency communications, enhancing safety through water disaster monitoring, and supporting precise satellite navigation with correction signals. The satellite is also intended to ensure continuity of service following the eventual decommissioning of GEO-KOMPSAT 1, which was launched in 2010. The platform supports critical infrastructure for aviation safety and maritime operations in South Korea.

The satellite was developed under the leadership of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which is responsible for the spacecraft bus, which has a launch mass of 3700 kg and a planned mission life of 15 years.

The payloads were developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). Thales Alenia Space provides a fully reprogrammable Digital Processor, integrated into the Ka-band broadband payload.

GEO-KOMPSAT 3 carries three primary payloads:

• FBCS (Flexible Broadband Communication System) operating in the Ka-band to provide high-capacity data transmission.
• DCS (Data Collection System) to collect environmental and sensor data from remote ground terminals.
• SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) to provide precision corrections for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), to enhance the safety and reliability of aviation and other location-based services.

The satellite is built to operate in geostationary orbit with a nominal service lifetime of 15 years. The spacecraft bus is based on the bus developed for the GEO-KOMPSAT-2 satellites.

The launch of GEO-KOMPSAT 3 is scheduled for 2027 on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5). The satellite will be positioned in geostationary orbit to provide continuous coverage over the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions.