Breaking News South Korea and the U.S. launch "Sun Coronavirus"...to the International Space Station.

Photo Source: Yonhap News

Coronograph, CODEX, a solar observation telescope jointly developed by Korean and American researchers, has been launched into space.

Codex, co-developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Administration (NASA), flew into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:29 a.m. today (5th).

The space agency said the codex will dock with the ISS tomorrow between 0 a.m. and 1 a.m. our time, before being installed on the ISS' external payload platform via a robotic arm.

Unlike conventional corona telescopes, Codex, which observes the outer part of the sun, not only the shape of the sun, but also the temperature and speed of the sun's corona, implementing it as a two-dimensional image.

It is expected to contribute to solar wind acceleration research and space weather prediction by conducting observations for up to 55 minutes out of the 90 minutes of the ISS' orbital period.

Codex plans to run for six months to up to two years after a three- to four-week trial run.