KOMPSAT was the first joint spacecraft development project for the South Korean aerospace agency KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute). TRW and Korean engineers worked together to develop the spacecraft.

The payload consisted of several scientific instruments as well as a Ka-band communications device. KOMPSAT was based on TRW's Eagle class of light weight, modular spacecraft. It had 3-axis stabilization with dual solar arrays. The payload included a 10 m resolution CCD imaging system supplied by Litton Itek Optical Systems. TRW supplied a low resolution camera for ocean and Earth resources monitoring. Other scientific instruments included a device to measure Earth's ionospheric and magnetic fields and a high-energy particle detector.

TRW signed the $ 32 million contract to develop the satellite on 19 September 1994.

Typical orbit: 685 km. Mass: 470 kg (1,030 lb).

• 1994 September 19 - Kompsat contract -
  TRW and Korean engineers would work together to develop the spacecraft. KOMPSAT was based on TRW's Eagle class of light weight, modular spacecraft.

• 1999 December 21 - Kompsat - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: 576E. Launch Vehicle: Taurus. Mass: 470 kg (1,030 lb). Perigee: 690 km (420 mi). Apogee: 722 km (448 mi). Inclination: 98.30 deg.
  Korean Multipurpose Satellite; carried an ocean color sensor developed by TRW and particle detectors. KOMPSAT was built by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) based on a test model built by TRW; it used the TRW STEP Lightsat bus and had a mass of around 500 kg, with 73 kg of hydrazine fuel.