NeonSat-2 to 6 on Nuri — launch time & how to watch

South Korea's Nuri rocket is scheduled to launch the NeonSat-2 to 6 satellites on September 30, 2026 from LC-2 at the Naro Space Center on the country's southern coast. The mission is operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and is currently listed with a target date to be confirmed (TBD).

What is Nuri?

Nuri (officially KSLV-II) is South Korea's first fully domestically developed orbital launch vehicle. The three-stage, liquid-fueled rocket stands about 47.2 meters tall, weighs roughly 200 tonnes at liftoff, and is designed to place payloads of up to 1,500 kg into a 600–800 km sun-synchronous orbit. It is powered by clustered KRE-075 and KRE-007 engines built entirely in Korea, making the country one of a small group capable of independent orbital launch.

When is the Nuri launch?

The launch is targeted for September 30, 2026, at 00:00 UTC. As with all research-and-development launch campaigns, the date carries a TBD status and can shift based on weather, range readiness, and final vehicle checkouts. Check the rocket launch schedule on Cosmik for the latest confirmed timing.

What is the payload?

The mission carries the NeonSat-2 through NeonSat-6 satellites, a batch of small Earth-observation spacecraft. The NeonSat program is a constellation of compact imaging satellites developed in partnership with South Korean universities and research institutions, intended to demonstrate high-resolution Earth observation using a distributed cluster of smallsats. Deploying multiple NeonSat units on a single Nuri flight expands the operational constellation and validates KARI's ability to loft rideshare-style batches of domestically built payloads.

Earth-observation constellations rely on multiple satellites spread across an orbital plane to shorten revisit times over any given point on the ground. Once deployed, the NeonSat satellites will join the growing population of active spacecraft you can follow on the live 3D satellite map.

Where is the launch site?

The Naro Space Center sits on Outer Naro Island in South Jeolla Province, on South Korea's southern coast. It is the nation's only orbital launch facility and has hosted every Nuri flight to date. Launching toward the south over open water allows the vehicle to reach sun-synchronous and polar orbits favored by Earth-observation payloads while keeping downrange debris clear of populated areas.

How to watch the Nuri launch live

KARI typically provides an official broadcast of Nuri launches. Beyond the video feed, you can follow the mission in three dimensions on Cosmik:

• Track the countdown and vehicle status on the latest launch news feed.
• Watch the rocket's trajectory and the deployed NeonSat satellites on the real-time 3D map.
• Learn the fundamentals of orbital tracking with our guide to tracking satellites.

Why this mission matters

Each successful Nuri flight strengthens South Korea's standing as a self-sufficient spacefaring nation. The rocket's operational cadence is building the domestic launch capacity needed to support future national programs, and multi-satellite missions like NeonSat-2 to 6 prove out the cost-efficient batch-deployment approach that modern smallsat constellations depend on. According to KARI, Nuri is central to Korea's long-term plan to secure independent access to space.

For background on the vehicle and its operator, see the Nuri rocket and Korea Aerospace Research Institute pages, and the Naro Space Center entry. Launch data is sourced from The Space Devs Launch Library.

Follow the launch on Cosmik

Don't miss liftoff. Follow the Nuri NeonSat mission on Cosmik's free 3D map, track the deployed satellites in orbit, and turn on free launch alerts to get notified the moment the countdown begins.