{"id":2197229,"date":"2022-07-05T14:48:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T05:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2197229"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:12","slug":"south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea blasts off into space without clear vision for where it\u2019s going"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea has a clear path to developing new missile ranges and payloads, thanks to Washington and Seoul\u2019s decision to scrap missile limits during Moon Jae-in\u2019s <\/span>final year<\/span><\/a> in office.\u00a0<\/span>While the national security implications of this decision are perhaps the most salient, the ROK space sector stands to benefit enormously from new development capabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But as money flows into the industry and technology is transferred from the government to the private sector, it is unclear if a strategy has emerged to penetrate an increasingly crowded international market.<\/span><\/p>\n

NEW POTENTIAL, OLD AMBITION<\/b><\/p>\n

South Korea has invested significant resources into space for most of this century. The current budget for the country\u2019s space program is roughly <\/span>$619 million<\/span><\/a>, nearly double what it was <\/span>in 2013<\/span><\/a>. The development of the three-stage Nuri rocket that <\/span>successfully<\/span><\/a> put South Korea\u2019s first satellite into orbit <\/span>last month<\/span><\/a> was the culmination of <\/span>three decades<\/span><\/a> of work and $1.7 billion <\/span>spent<\/span><\/a> on the project since 2010.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later this year, South Korea is expected to launch its <\/span>first lunar orbiter<\/span><\/a> aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and undertake an <\/span>unmanned moon landing<\/span><\/a> by 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There appears to be bipartisan support to explore the final frontier. Just weeks after Yoon Suk-yeol assumed the presidency, South Korea became the <\/span>10th country<\/span><\/a> to join the U.S.-led Artemis Accords \u2014 an agreement that sets norms for countries wanting to explore the moon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. and South Korea have also agreed to cooperate on Seoul\u2019s pursuit of the Korea Positioning System (KPS) \u2014 an indigenous satellite navigation system it hopes to have in place <\/span>by 2035<\/span><\/a>. Further, Korea is aiming to take a lead in the race for <\/span>6G technologies<\/span><\/a> aided by its space program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ability to place its own satellites in orbit is a major milestone for South Korea as it looks to take on a greater role in its own security. Taking more responsibility for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities related to North Korea is a key objective in the transfer of wartime operational control from the U.S. to South Korea. To that end, the country unveiled a plan to spend <\/span>$1.4 billion<\/span><\/a> by 2030 to develop satellites, communications and new rockets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Workers prepare a Nuri rocket for a launch in June 2022 | Image: Ministry of Science and IT’s YouTube<\/a> (June 20, 2022)<\/p><\/div>\n

But the Nuri rocket is not the end of the project for South Korea, nor will those technologies remain the sole property of the government. The ROK military is beginning the development of a solid-fuel satellite launch vehicle (SLV) with the aim of completing the project by 2030. The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is slightly <\/span>more aggressive<\/span><\/a> in its timeline, promising a solid-fueled space launch vehicle by 2024. To speed up that process, MSIT announced that it will undertake a nearly <\/span>$600 million program<\/span><\/a> to transfer relevant technologies to the private sector by 2027.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The push to enter the commercial space launch sector comes at a time of rapid expansion in the market. Over the next 20 years, revenues generated by the sector are expected to undergo explosive growth. While the market was $424 billion in 2020, Citi <\/span>expects<\/span><\/a> that number to reach $1 trillion by 2040.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, South Korea will not be alone in its ambitions to secure a slice of the market. Driven by <\/span>falling prices<\/span><\/a> for commercial space launches, the Space Foundation <\/span>notes<\/span><\/a> that 15 new launch vehicles are expected to debut in 2022 \u2014 the busiest year since space launches began.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with the busy launch schedule for the Nuri rocket, with <\/span>launches planned<\/span><\/a> in 2023, 2024 and 2026, it will take years for Korea to squarely enter into the commercial <\/span>space launch service sector<\/span><\/a>. And when it does it will face fierce competition from competitors with a significant head start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As South Korea undertakes technology transfers to the private sector, money continues to flow into the industry, creating windfalls for downline private companies. Hanwha Aerospace, in particular, is likely to be the biggest winner. It provided the engines for Nuri and is South Korea\u2019s largest aerospace company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the benefits will be diffuse. <\/span>More than 300 South Korean companies<\/span><\/a> were involved with designing and manufacturing the Nuri rocket and many more will likely be involved as the space industry takes off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

South Korea’s first successful Nuri rocket launch placed a test satellite and a dummy satellite into orbit | Image: Ministry of Science and ICT’s YouTube<\/a> (June 21, 2022)<\/p><\/div>\n

TOWARD A COHERENT SPACE POLICY<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite the lofty ambitions, it is unclear which direction South Korea\u2019s space program will go over the next several years. As other observers <\/span>have noted<\/span><\/a>, South Korea currently lacks an overarching strategy for its ambitions in space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, current spending falls far behind other major players like Japan, which earmarked more than five times what Seoul did in its <\/span>current budget<\/span><\/a> and a larger share of its GDP on space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And the country <\/span>does not have<\/span><\/a> an institution such as NASA in the U.S. \u2014 an independent organization that reports to the president.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Yoon <\/span>pledged<\/span><\/a> to change that and may cement this with his first budget proposal. Establishing a Korean NASA would provide structure to the country\u2019s efforts to become an important player in the commercial space sector and much-needed guidance on where the country\u2019s space development is headed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Arius Derr<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Business & Economy<\/span><\/a>Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korea has a clear path to developing new missile ranges and payloads, thanks to Washington and Seoul\u2019s decision to scrap missile limits during Moon Jae-in\u2019s final year in office.\u00a0While the national security implications of this decision are perhaps the most salient, the ROK space sector stands to benefit enormously from new development capabilities.\u00a0 But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3665,"featured_media":2197232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[24,26,28],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Korea blasts off into space without clear vision for where it\u2019s going - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea blasts off into space without clear vision for where it\u2019s going - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea has a clear path to developing new missile ranges and payloads, thanks to Washington and Seoul\u2019s decision to scrap missile limits during Moon Jae-in\u2019s final year in office.\u00a0While the national security implications of this decision are perhaps the most salient, the ROK space sector stands to benefit enormously from new development capabilities.\u00a0 But […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-05T05:48:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-05T07:12:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/nuri-launch-youtube-featured-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1870\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bishawjit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Karl Friedhoff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bishawjit\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/313e6f940bf1ae7b8cc487ec00b1b562\"},\"headline\":\"South Korea blasts off into space without clear vision for where it\u2019s going\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-05T05:48:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T07:12:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\"},\"wordCount\":900,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Business & Economy\",\"Defense & Security\",\"Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/south-korea-blasts-off-into-space-without-clear-vision-for-where-its-going\/\",\"name\":\"South Korea blasts off into space without clear vision for where it\u2019s going - 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