South Korea
Design flaw blamed for failed debut of South Korea’s new satellite launcher
The failed October debut of South Korea’s KSLV-2 rocket is being blamed on improperly anchored helium tanks inside the three-stage rocket’s upper stage.
South Korea, Australia sign MOU on space cooperation
South Korea and Australia agreed to work together to improve capacities in space situational awareness, Earth observation, space traffic and debris management.
South Korea’s Hanwha to expand space business portfolio with rocket development
Hanwha Aerospace unveiled the plan Dec. 6, saying it recently held a joint meeting with South Korea's space agency for preliminary requirement review on their envisioned rocket.
China silent, South Korea ‘concerned’ over debris created by Russia’s anti-satellite missile test
South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed concern over the “numerous pieces of debris” created in low Earth orbit when Russia destroyed a Soviet-era satellite with a missile strike earlier this week but stopped short of criticizing Russia.
South Korean ground station operator orders its first EO satellite
Contec signed a contract with NanoAvionics for an Earth observation satellite that will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2023.
South Korea to develop reusable rocket with 100-ton thrust engines
The plan to develop a reusable rocket came as a surprise because “reusability” was nowhere to be seen in the government’s budget request for 2022 — in which South Korea’s next-generation rocket was supposed to be an expendable rocket.
US-South Korea joint space drills to focus on space situational awareness
“What we urgently need is ‘eyes’ to look at what’s happening in outer space,” said ROK Air Force Col. Park Ki-tae, inaugural chief of the air force’s Space Operations Center, during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2021.
South Korea’s 1st homegrown space rocket reaches space but fails to orbit dummy payload
South Korea’s KSLV-2 rocket reached its intended altitude in its maiden flight Oct. 21, but its third-stage engine shut down 46 seconds early, releasing its 1,500-kilogram dummy payload at less than orbital speed.
‘We go together’: US Space Force chief seeks deeper space cooperation with South Korea
The U.S. Space Force’s top general expressed hope for deepening cooperation with South Korea's military Oct. 18, saying “Katchi Kapshida,” which means “We go together” in Korean, a symbolic slogan of the long-standing Korea-U.S. alliance.
South Korea’s air force opens space ops center
South Korea’s air force has launched a space center that will play a central role in drawing space policies for the nation’s armed forces as well as enhancing cooperation with domestic and international partners, including U.S. Space Force
South Korea seeks $553 million space budget for 2022
In a bid to nurture its nascent domestic space sector, South Korea is seeking a 640 billion won ($553 million) annual space budget for 2022. If granted in full, it would amount to a 4 percent increase from this year’s 615 billion won.
Korean consortium invested $50 million in US launch startup Relativity Space
The $50 million invested by a South Korean consortium was part of $650 million Relativity Space raised in a Series E funding round in June.
South Korea to spend $593 million on public-to-private transfer of rocket technologies
Starting next year, South Korea’s government will transfer state-owned space launch vehicle technologies to domestic aerospace companies in a move to help them penetrate an expanding global space launch market.
US, South Korea agree to enhance security cooperation in outer space
South Korea’s air force will join U.S. Space Force-led joint military drills aimed at bolstering the latter’s defense capabilities in outer space.
South Korea to invest $13.6 billion to bolster defenses capabilities in outer space
South Korea will invest 16 trillion won ($13.6 billion) over the next 10 years in bolstering its defense capabilities in outer space. This includes 1.6 trillion won to be used to develop “core technologies” for military satellites.
South Korea touts Artemis Accords as a way to settle international space issues
South Korea’s vice foreign minister said last week that the most effective way to settle space disputes is through an international diplomatic framework like the Artemis Accords.
South Korea’s Satrec Initiative to build constellation of high-resolution Earth observation satellites
In the first step toward building its own constellation of Earth observation satellite, Satrec Initiative will send the high-resolution SpaceEye-T imaging satellite into low Earth orbit by the first quarter of 2024.
South Korea’s GNSS project to take off with $3.3 billion budget
South Korea has set off on a journey to build its own satellite navigation system, in cooperation with the United States, by 2035 to provide more accurate and reliable position, navigation and timing information across the country.
North Korea-linked hackers accessed South’s rocket developer: spy agency
Hackers linked to North Korea broke into the network of a South Korean aerospace company last month that holds confidential rocket propulsion technologies developed for the nation’s first indigenous space launch vehicle KSLV-Ⅱ, the state spy agency said July 8.
South Korea’s top airline to develop propellant tank for smallsat launcher
Korean Air, South Korea's biggest airline, says it will develop common bulkhead propellant tanks for small satellite launch vehicles as part of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s “Space Pioneer” project.
