Private sector-led space industry gears up for launches in 2025
Local firms set to conduct eight rocket blastoffs throughout this year
Korean companies are gearing up to mark this year as the true opening of the private sector-led space economy for the country with eight launches of space rockets -- the most the country's ever seen in a year -- set for blastoff throughout 2025.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT as well as Korea's space firms on Friday, Hanwha Aerospace has been bustling as it gets ready to carry out the fourth launch of the homegrown Nuri rocket in November this year.
Unlike the previous three Nuri launches, when the main operation was led by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Hanwha is in the driver's seat for the entire process of this year's takeoff as the country has been working towards developing the private sector's space capabilities.
Innospace, a startup specializing in developing hybrid space rockets, is poised to turn this year into its global debut stage on the commercial market for placing satellites into orbit after it successfully launched its the Hanbit-TLV from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil in March 2023 to become Korea's first private firm to have demonstrated the capabilities to blast off a space launch vehicle.
Innospace plans to launch the bigger rocket Hanbit-Nano from the same Brazilian site in July, September and November, taking a shot at its first commercial launches after the company debuted on the Kosdaq, the country's secondary, tech-heavy bourse in July last year.
With Hanwha Aerospace and Innospace leading the private sector's march into the space economy for Korea, other local space launch vehicle developers are aiming to try again with launches this year.
Startup Unastella is getting ready to launch its self-developed space launch vehicle Una Express-1 in the second quarter of this year. The startup came up short in its previous attempt to blast off the rocket due to an engine ignition delay in Goheung, South Jeolla Province in November last year.
In a similar maneuver, another startup Perigee has its eyes set between the second and third quarters to retry blasting off its own space launch vehicle Blue Whale 0.4 after it failed to conduct the scheduled launch off the coast of Jeju Island in October last year.
'This year will be the most competitive year for countries to secure the lead in the aerospace sector,' said Yoon Young-bin, chief of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, in a recent statement laying out the government body's five goals for the space sector this year.
'In the era of aerospace hegemony, the KASA will unite the nation's capabilities so that our country seizes opportunities in advance and takes the lead in the aerospace industry on its way to become a top five aerospace powerhouse in the world.'
Announcing its final budget to invest 806 billion won ($554 million) in this year's aerospace research and development on Jan. 22, up about 43.3 percent on year, KASA said it will push for developing core technologies of space launch vehicles, satellites and payloads centered on industrial entities for companies to utilize them and secure the groundwork for private firms to cope with the increasing demand of satellite developments.
'The series of rocket launches planned by private companies this year can help the industry grow, larger with Korea hoping to catch up to the leading countries in the space sector worldwide,' said an official at an aerospace company.
'Although it takes a lot of money and time to develop key space technologies, we need more from the private sector to truly advance the country's space capabilities.'
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