South Korea Launches First Lunar Orbiter as Space Bid Gathers Pace

People watch a television screen showing a live footage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching with South Korea's first lunar orbiter Danuri onboard from Cape Canaveral in Florida, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 5, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

SEOUL—South Korea launched its first lunar orbiter on Friday as it doubles down on its space programs, aiming to land a probe on the moon by 2030.

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri, meaning “enjoy the Moon,” was launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral U.S. Space Force Station at 8:08 a.m. on Friday, South Korea’s science ministry said.