South Korea plans to launch its first radar-equipped observation satellite into orbit around June next year.

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry said Thursday that the Arirang Five, which passed the thermal vacuum test successfully, will be launched from the Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia in June or July next year after final performance tests.

If launched, the Arirang Five will be the nation's third multirole satellite after Arirang One and Two.

The Arirang Five will take detailed images of the planet's surface in all weather conditions for five years after launch from a distance of 550 kilometers from the Earth's surface, circling the globe 15 times a day.

The state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute says Arirang Five and Two can be programmed to fly over the same area of the Earth and take both optical and radar-enhanced images, which the institute expects will help the government to effectively monitor and prevent disasters.