South Korea will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of its first-ever satellite, "Our Star One," on Thursday.

The satellite, officially designated KITSAT-1, was successfully launched on August 11, 1992, from the Guiana Space Center in South America.

The feat made South Korea the 22nd country in the world to possess its own satellite and helped the nation acquire satellite development technology through the training and education of satellite engineers.

The satellite ceased operations in 2004, seven years more than its initial life expectancy.

In light of the celebration, KAIST will seek ways to once again utilize the satellite for space technology development, such as capturing obsolete satellites currently in orbit and either returning them to Earth or disposing of them through atmospheric disintegration as the need to clear space junk becomes a more prevalent global issue.