KOMPSAT-2 (also referred to as Arirang-2 by South Korea) was developed by KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) to continue the observation program of the KOMPSAT-1 mission.
The main mission objectives of the KOMPSAT-2 are to provide a surveillance capability for large-scale disasters by acquiring high-resolution imagery for GIS (Geographic Information Systems) applications.
The satellite is fitted with a MSC (Multi Spectral Camera) which is a joint development of KARI with ELOP (Electro Optics Industries Ltd. of Rehovot, Israel) and OHB-System, Bremen, Germany. The objective is to collect high-resolution panchromatic and multispectral imagery of the Earth’s surface (simultaneous observation). ELOP of Elbit Systems refers to the camera as Uranus-MSC. The MSC consists of the following elements: EOS (Electro-Optical Subsystem), PDTS (Payload Data Transmission Subsystem), PMU (Payload Management Unit), and the interconnection harness.