A live broadcast of the launch in South Korea on Friday morning showed the orbiter Danuri, which means enjoy the moon successfully separating from the Falcon 9 rocket.
The 678 kilogram of about 1,500 pounds craft has six payloads, including Korean-made equipment, developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute KARI.
Friday's launch comes as South Korea accelerates its space program and hopes to send a probe to the moon by 2030. The country successfully launched satellites into space with its homegrown Nuri rocket in June, a significant step for its space program. Space launches have been a sensitive issue on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea faces international sanctions over its nuclear-armed ballistic missile program. In March, North Korea called for expanding its space rocket launch site to further its space ambitions after South Korea and the United States accused it of testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile under the guise of launching a space vehicle. South Korea says that its space program is for peaceful and scientific purposes and that any military use of the technology, such as in spy satellites, is for its defense.