South Koreans watch the launch of the Nuri rocket in Goheung, South Korea May 25, 2023. YONHAP NEWS AGENCY/VIA Portal
The success of the launch of its Nuri rocket (“world”, in Korean) on Thursday May 25 imposes something more on South Korea in the space sector. After being postponed due to an “unprecedented” computer glitch, the 47.2-meter-long, three-stage rocket launched from the Naro Space Center island in Goheung County, in the far south of the country, according to Ko Jeong-hwan, project manager at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers In the shadow of the United States, Japan and South Korea join forces in the fields of security and economy
This was the first operational use of this missile, known by the codename KSLV-II. Nuri carried eight earth, climate and cosmic ray observation satellites, including the Nextsat-2 developed by the Korean Higher Institute of Science and Technology. The others came from the Institute for Astronomy and the private companies Justek, Lumir and Cairospace.
This achievement marks an important step for the space industry, which is one of Seoul’s ten strategic sectors. In December 2022, President Yoon Seok-youl announced that he would make it “one of the five world firsts” by achieving “technology independence in the essential elements of the launch vehicle and the satellites.” The aim is to increase South Korea’s share in the space sector from 1% today to 10% in 2045.
End of cooperation with Russia
“The space industry is growing rapidly. From an industrial point of view, we cannot ignore it. It’s also important for national security,” Deputy Science Minister Oh Tae-seog told Bloomberg. According to a 2020 study by Morgan Stanley, space industry revenues could grow from $350 billion in 2019 to over $1,000 billion in 2040.
Its development was irregular, starting in the 1990s with KSR missiles, then the Naro was developed in cooperation with Russia. After two failures, this launch vehicle experienced its first success in 2013. Nuri is implementing a 1.9 trillion won ($1.3 billion) project launched in 2010 to launch 1.5-ton satellites into low orbit.
Also Read: Launch of First South Korean Moon Mission
The success of Nuri’s second test made South Korea the seventh country in June 2022 to master the launch of satellites over one tonne. Three more launches are planned by 2027 and its successor, the KSLV-III rocket, is already under development. Planned to enter service in 2030, it will be able to carry up to 10 tons into low orbit or 3.5 tons into geosynchronous orbit.
You have 23.07% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.