The Lavochkin Research and Production Association and Glavcosmos Launch Services have signed a contract on manufacturing, adapting and delivering the Fregat booster to the Baikonur spaceport for orbiting South Korea’s CAS500-1 Earth’s remote sensing satellite, the Lavochkin press office reported on Thursday.

"A contract on launch services signed between Glavcosmos (the launch operator) and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) as the developer, producer and operator of various space vehicles served as the basis for concluding this agreement," the Lavochkin press office said.

CEO of Glavcosmos Launch Services Alexander Serkin earlier said that South Korean CAS500-1 and CAS500-2 Earth’s remote sensing satellites were planned to be launched in late April and late July 2020 aboard a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with Fregat boosters from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The launch period for the first mission will begin in December 2019 and end in late April 2020 and for the second mission it will start in December 2019 and end in late July 2020.