[Reading Science] "Movie 'Seungriho' Soon Becoming Reality" vs "60 Billion Won for Garbage Collection?"

Space Debris Surge to Boost Related Industry to 3 Trillion Won in 5 Years
South Korea Proposes Technology Development with 'UriByeol 1' Retrieval Mission
"Chance to Develop Deep Space Exploration Core Technologies," Key Is to Resolve Budget Waste Concerns

A scene from the movie 'Seungriho'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The movie Space Sweepers tells the story of the crew of a cleaning ship that collects space debris to make money. However, this space cleaning industry is expected to become active not in the distant future but soon, with the market size projected to reach 3 trillion won by 2025. Accordingly, Korea also needs to develop related technologies, and there is a proposal to achieve this by retrieving 'Uribyeol 1-ho,' a pioneer in space development. On the other hand, there are criticisms that this could be a waste of budget.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) proposed the 'Uribyeol 1-ho retrieval mission' at the Deep Space Exploration Experts Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 18th. According to KAIST, with the advent of the 'New Space' era where the private space industry is booming, the utilization of space is increasing explosively, leading to a rapid increase in low Earth orbit satellite constellations worldwide. These are mainly communication satellites or microsatellites providing high-speed communication services such as space internet. The low Earth orbit around the Earth is nearing saturation.

The traces left by humanity's space activities over the past 60 years are also enormous. Humanity has conducted over 6,050 launches and currently operates 3,372 satellites. There are 28,160 objects remaining in space weighing 9,300 tons. In response, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed international regulations to manage orbital debris.

Advanced space development countries already possess technologies for rendezvous, proximity flight, capture, and orbital re-entry to monitor and collect space debris, and startups are also active, bringing the industry to the brink of full-scale commercialization. Examples include ClearSpace from Switzerland, Astroscale from Japan, Orbit Guardians from the U.S., the University of Surrey from the U.K., and Share My Space from France. KAIST predicts that the space object removal market, which has grown at an average annual rate of 28% since last year, will reach the 3 trillion won range within the next five years. This means that the scenario in the movie Space Sweepers is not a distant future event but will become a reality within about ten years.

▲UriByul 1-ho

On this day, KAIST reportedly urged the Ministry of Science and ICT to make bold investments, stating that through the Uribyeol 1-ho return mission, Korea can develop not only space debris monitoring and removal technologies but also core technologies for asteroid and deep space exploration.

Uribyeol 1-ho is a microsatellite weighing 48 kg, first developed and launched by Korean researchers in 1992, holding great significance in the history of space development. After completing its five-year mission, communication was lost in 2003, and it is currently orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 1,500 km at a speed of 7 m/s.

KAIST plans to spend about 60 billion won to build a separate retrieval satellite, launch it on the soon-to-be-completed Korean space launch vehicle Nuriho into a 500 km orbit, then track and capture Uribyeol 1-ho to re-enter the atmosphere and incinerate it. This process requires various space technologies necessary for deep space exploration, such as missions to Mars, the Moon, and asteroids.

A photo capturing the trajectory of UriStar 1 by OWL-Net from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.

First, to raise the retrieval satellite from low Earth orbit to the high orbit where Uribyeol 1-ho is located, an orbital transfer satellite thruster must be developed. Beyond simply placing satellites into orbit, orbital adjustment and control technologies must be advanced. To locate and chase Uribyeol 1-ho, high-precision inter-satellite distance measurement technology based on LIDAR is also necessary. Additionally, smart vision systems for rendezvous, robotics for capturing space objects, and Earth re-entry technologies must be developed.

KAIST states that since it already possesses a considerable level of foundational technologies, development and actual mission completion are possible by 2026. Kwon Se-jin, director of the KAIST Satellite Center, said, "This is a great opportunity to develop and verify core technologies for deep space exploration. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Uribyeol 1-ho's launch, so the symbolism is significant," adding, "The initial response is positive, but securing the budget through the National Assembly is crucial."