Solar observation telescope Codex arrives at the International Space Station

SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship carrying CoronaGraph and CODEX, a solar observation telescope jointly developed by Korean and U.S. researchers, has successfully docked to the International Space Station.

The Korea Astronomy and Space Administration (NASA) and co-developed Codex arrived at the International Space Station at around midnight today (6th), 12 hours after launch.

Codex plans to be installed on the platform of the payload outside the International Space Station through an automatic robotic arm over three days from the 9th.

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 from six months to up to two years after a three- to four-week trial run.