설계 수명 1년 큐브위성 도요샛, 3년 넘게 임무 중…태양폭풍 때 고도 300m 하강
Cubesat 도요샛, Built to Last a Year, Is Still Working After Three
Part of the September 10, 2026 daily edition
도요샛은 한국천문연구원의 10kg급 작은 위성으로, 2023년 5월 25일 누리호 3차 발사 때 고도 약 550km 궤도에 올라갔습니다. 설계 수명은 1년이지만 3년 넘게 임무를 하고 있습니다. 그동안 아주 강한 태양폭풍 4번을 모두 견뎠습니다. 연구진은 2024년 5월 태양폭풍 때 32시간 동안 도요샛의 고도가 약 300m 낮아진 것을 발견했습니다. 그때 위성 주변의 대기 밀도는 평소보다 2배 넘게 늘었다가 다시 원래대로 돌아왔습니다. 이 연구는 국제 학술지 Space Weather에 실렸습니다.
Translation
도요샛 is a small satellite of the 한국천문연구원, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, in the 10 kg class; it went into orbit at an altitude of about 550 km on the third launch of the 누리호 rocket on 25 May 2023. Its design life was one year, but it has been on its mission for more than three years. In that time it has come through four very strong solar storms. The researchers found that during the solar storm of May 2024, over 32 hours, the altitude of 도요샛 dropped by about 300 m. At that time the density of the atmosphere around the satellite rose to more than twice the usual level, then went back to normal. The study was published in the international journal Space Weather.
Vocabulary
- 위성명사 (noun)a satellite
- 수명명사 (noun)a lifespan, a service life
- 임무명사 (noun)a mission
- 태양폭풍명사 (noun)a solar storm
- 견디다동사 (verb)to withstand, to endure
- 고도명사 (noun)altitude
- 밀도명사 (noun)density
- 학술지명사 (noun)an academic journal
Grammar points
-지만but, although
-지만 joins two clauses that pull in different directions, and it attaches straight to the stem or to 이다, as in 1년이지만. The first clause gives what you would expect, the second what actually happened. It is the plainest contrast ending in Korean, so it is the one to learn first.
Example: 설계 수명은 1년이지만 3년 넘게 임무를 하고 있습니다.
Its design life was one year, but it has been on its mission for more than three years.
-(으)ㄴ 것the fact that ..., that ... (a clause used as a noun)
것 after a past modifier turns a whole clause into a noun, so it can be the object of a verb like 발견하다 or 알다. In 고도가 낮아진 것을 발견했습니다, what was found is the fact that the altitude dropped. English does the same job with 'that' or with '-ing', and the pattern is everywhere in science writing.
Example: 연구진은 도요샛의 고도가 약 300m 낮아진 것을 발견했습니다.
The researchers found that the altitude of 도요샛 dropped by about 300 m.
-았/었다가did ... and then (a change of direction)
-았/었다가 marks an action that finished and was then followed by something that undoes or reverses it. 늘었다가 돌아왔습니다 is 'rose and then came back'. It differs from plain -고: -고 just lists, while -다가 says the second thing turned the first around.
Example: 공기 밀도는 평소보다 2배 넘게 늘었다가 다시 원래대로 돌아왔습니다.
The density rose to more than twice the usual level, then went back to normal.
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