South Korean spacecraft launched to the moon, country’s 1st

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — South Korea is on its way to the moon. SpaceX launched the Asian nation’s first lunar explorer Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite is taking a long, roundabout path and will arrive in December. It’s designed to orbit the moon for at least a year, collecting scientific data. It will also scout out potential landing spots for a spacecraft that South Korea plans to launch by 2030 or so. NASA is up next with the debut of its new moon rocket in late August. The space agency wants to send an empty crew capsule around the moon in a test flight before astronauts climb aboard.