[Reading Science] The Korean Version of SpaceX... A New Era of Private-Led Space Exploration Begins

The Space Industry Grows at an Annual Rate of 3.46%... Domestic Sales Reach 3 Trillion Won and Workforce Nears 10,000
KARI Leads Nuriho as a Catalyst for Private Space Industry... Private Sector to Lead from Next Year's Next-Generation Medium Satellite 2

Reference photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The era of ‘New Space’ has begun. The government-led ‘Old Space’ era, which prioritized ‘national prestige’ without practical benefits, is fading, and a new era where space companies practically pioneer space has started. While Elon Musk’s SpaceX leads private space tourism and satellite internet in the United States, space companies in Korea are also actively making moves.

◆Space Industry ‘1,100 Trillion Won by 2040’

The global space industry has steadily grown at an average annual rate of 3.46%, from $276.5 billion (about 300 trillion won) in 2010 to $339.1 billion (about 370 trillion won) in 2016. Morgan Stanley analyzed that the space industry will reach about $1 trillion (1,100 trillion won) by 2040. Korea’s space industry sales have also steadily increased from 2.4778 trillion won in 2014 to 3.261 trillion won in 2019. As of 2019, the total workforce engaged in the domestic space industry was 9,397, with 3,314 (35.3%) in space equipment manufacturing and 6,083 (64.7%) in space utilization. In 2019, the institutions participating in the space industry included 359 companies, 34 research institutes, and 56 universities (119 departments), totaling 449.

Since 2013, the government has been promoting various policies to foster the private space industry based on the ‘Space Technology Industrialization Strategy.’ The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which has led existing space development, plays a support headquarters role. It is the main pillar of revitalizing the private space industry by transferring a large amount of secured space technology and providing ‘business opportunities’ through government orders. The Nuri rocket, scheduled to launch this October by KARI, is particularly a catalyst for revitalizing the private space industry. The budget invested in the Nuri rocket development process is about 1.8 trillion won, the largest single space project attempted to date.

Of this budget, 80%, or 1.5 trillion won, has sustained private space development companies for nearly the past decade. An amount close to ten times the Naro rocket budget (177.5 billion won) was paid to private companies, marking the emergence of the domestic private space industry as a new business opportunity. The production inducement effect of the Nuri rocket is expected to be 5.0543 trillion won, the value-added inducement effect 1.6665 trillion won, and the employment creation effect 17,496 jobs.

Among the private companies involved, the core is Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which developed the final assembly and the first-stage propellant tank. Hanwha Aerospace (formerly Samsung Techwin) also played a key role. It was responsible for the crucial final assembly of the Nuri rocket engine and developed major parts such as the propulsion system supply system, piping assembly, actuator system, and thruster system, while also participating in the establishment of test facilities, showing active involvement in various areas. The total number of companies participating in the Nuri rocket development process reached about 300, with about 30 main companies (not subcontractors) and 500 personnel mobilized.

In the satellite sector, a system has been established where private companies and research institutes manufacture most components such as payloads, propulsion systems, and main bodies, while KARI assembles them, as seen in the ‘Next-Generation Medium Satellite 1,’ which was successfully launched last month. The government developed the Next-Generation Medium Satellite 1 as the first mass-producible standard platform type, with KARI leading as before but involving industry from the development stage to transfer technology. From the second satellite, scheduled for launch early next year, industry will take the lead, and eventually, KARI will be completely excluded. This is an ongoing blueprint to create an ecosystem where industries manufacture private satellites and export them overseas. In fact, KAI was selected as the lead research institute for the development of the second satellite and is producing it by receiving system and main body development technology transferred during the first satellite’s development process.

◆"Private Companies at a Significant Level" but Much Remains to Be Done

Among Korea’s private companies, space companies with independent technology are emerging one after another. ‘SATRECI,’ known for accumulating considerable technology in the small and medium satellite manufacturing sector, is representative. Founded by the key figures who made the Our Star 1-3 satellites in the early 1990s, this company has led the development of Arirang Satellite 6, lunar probes, next-generation medium satellite ground stations, Cheollian 2A space weather payloads and ground stations, and is famous as an overseas small satellite export company. It is a well-known anecdote that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which began Mars exploration in February, consulted this company when it officially started space development in 2007. Alongside, ‘Innospace,’ which will test-launch a nanosatellite launch vehicle called ‘Icarus’ this December, is a leader in private launch vehicle development. ‘Nara Space’ is notable in ultra-small satellite manufacturing and swarm satellite system design, and ‘Contec,’ Korea’s only ground station service provider, is also a remarkable company.

However, private and academic experts evaluate that the government’s ‘New Space’ policy still has a long way to go to truly leap forward as a space power and establish an industrial ecosystem. An anonymous official from a satellite manufacturing company said, “To match the New Space era, the government or public institutions need to raise demand and supply satellites that meet industry requirements, or establish a satellite development system through joint investment between public institutions and the private sector.” He added, “It is time to pay attention not only to satellite manufacturing but also to utilization and service sectors through data generated by satellites.” He also said, “Companies like SpaceX in the U.S. grew into global leaders in the space industry by leveraging government investment and demand,” and added, “We expect a review of the core roles of public and private sectors and the establishment of practical policies to accelerate the leap to a space power.”

Bang Hyo-chung, director of the Security Convergence Research Institute at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), said, “Currently, space development centered on government-funded research institutes may be efficient, but there are inevitably limits to competitiveness and self-sustainability in technology development. Most core components of launch vehicles and satellites are foreign-made even now.” He pointed out, “At the 30-year mark of space development, it is time to elevate systems, infrastructure, and workforce training to a higher level, transforming space from a project target to a key axis of national policy, and to shift the paradigm.”