Posted: Sat, Jan 5, 2008, 10:08 AM ET (1508 GMT)
Ground controllers have lost contact with South Korea's first multipurpose satellite, Korean officials said this week. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) lost contact with Arirang-1 on December 30 and has failed to restore communications with the spacecraft since then. The cause of the loss of contact is known, although KARI engineers suspect that there may either be a problem with the spacecraft's power systems or a misalignment of the spacecraft. Arirang-1, also known as KOMPSAT-1, was launched on a Taurus rocket in December 1999. The spacecraft was jointly developed by KARI and US aerospace company TRW (now Northrop Grumman), and carries a camera and multispectral sensor.

Related Links:

•  Yonhap News article
•  AFP article
•  Xinhua article