Detail

`The history of satellites, which began with the U.S former U.S.S.R. rivalry in space exploration, reached a turning point when the commercial service was inaugurated with the launch of the Early Bird satellite(Intelsat-I) in 1965, thus opening a new era in commercial communications. Though its early development mostly involved advanced countriws, many development countries have successfully launched commerial communication satellites since than. Following the launch of Korea`s first telecommunication and broadcasting satellite, dubbed the Koreasat 1 or Mugunghwa 1, on August 5, 1995, the Mugunghwa satellite 2 (Koreasat 2), a twin satellite of the Mugunghwa 1, was blasted off on January 14, 1996, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the U.S State of Florida. Like the Koreasat 1, the Koreasat 1 is a hybird satellite with FSS and DBS service. It consists 15 transponders:3 for DBS(27MHz)and 12 for telecommunicstions (36MHz). The output power consumption is 12W for FSS and 120W for DBS. The mid-size Koreasat Spacelink, which weights apporoximately 600kg in dry mass, will be positioned on an equatorial geostationary orbit over the Pacific Ocean(116˚E), and its boresight will be 127.5˚ E, 36˚ N, placing it over central South Korea. Its DBS and telecommunications services will cover the entire Korean Peninsula as well as the adjacent areas, including parts of China, Russia and Japan. In addition to opening an era of cutting-edge technology in the field of satellite and rocket production for domestic industries, the Koreasat project turned a new page in full-fiedged satellite broadcasting and telecommunications. The launches of the two Mugunghwa satellites are expected to give momentum to Korea`s endeavors in its space exploration program through the securing of a considerable amount of space radiowave and orbit resources. The Minstry of Information & Communication is issuing a commemorative stamp to celebrate the landmark launches of the Mugunghwa sateliites which herald the advent of the information society in the 21st century and satellite-based telecommunications as well as broadcasting. `