South Korea is set to launch its first lunar orbiter on Friday as it doubles down on its

space programs, aiming to land a probe on the moon by 2030.

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, nicknamed Danuri, meaning "enjoy the Moon",
will be launched on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral US
Space Force Station at 8:08 a.m. on Friday, South Korean time (2308 GMT on
Thursday), South Korea's science ministry said.

The launch was initially scheduled for last Wednesday but delayed because of an
unspecified maintenance issue with the SpaceX rocket.

"The Danuri has successfully completed all preparations for about a month, and is
currently mounted on the launch vehicle," the ministry said in a statement.

If it succeeds, South Korea will become the world's seventh lunar explorer, and the
fourth in Asia, behind China, Japan and India.