[Exclusive] No Upgrade Project for Nuriho... Concerns Over Delay in Moon Jangchakryukseon Launch Promised by Moon by 2030

Preliminary Feasibility Study Result: Improvement Project Failed to Pass

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] It has been confirmed that the government has completely cut the budget for the improvement project of the first Korean-type space launch vehicle 'Nuriho' in next year's research and development (R&D) budget plan, sparking controversy. Upgrading Nuriho's performance is essential to send the lunar exploration lander, which is planned to be built by 2030 using a domestically developed launch vehicle, and there are concerns that the schedule could be disrupted.

According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 29th, the next year's government R&D budget plan of about 23.5 trillion won, confirmed at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council meeting on the 24th, does not include any allocation for the Nuriho performance development project. Instead, only the budget for the commercialization of Nuriho, that is, for the additional production and launch of four more launch vehicles with the same performance as currently developed, was reflected. Of the total 600 billion won, 86.4 billion won for the first year was included in next year's budget plan.

This is because the Nuriho performance improvement project failed to pass the government's preliminary feasibility study. The Ministry of Science and ICT initially prepared a budget of about 2.02 trillion won related to Nuriho for performance improvement, industrialization, and repeated launches and conducted the feasibility study until recently. However, the approximately 1.5 trillion won R&D budget for performance improvement was concluded to be 'reconsidered.' Only the approximately 600 billion won budget related to industrialization and repeated launches passed the feasibility study.

As a result, delays in the Nuriho performance improvement project schedule are inevitable. Nuriho has been developed since 2008 with an investment of about 1.957 trillion won and is scheduled to be launched twice, in October this year and May next year. The 75-ton liquid fuel engine and fuel tanks were all developed by domestic engineers including those at KARI. Unlike Naroho, which successfully launched in 2013 with a Russian-made engine, Nuriho is a pure domestic technology conglomerate.

However, the limitations in performance and technology are clear, making upgrades urgent. With the current performance, it is impossible to send a lunar lander using a domestic launch vehicle as promised by President Moon Jae-in in March. Nuriho consists of a first stage with four 75-ton engines, a second stage with one engine, and a third stage with a 7-ton engine, capable of sending a 1.5-ton payload to 500-600 km orbit. The payload weight to the moon is only about 78 kg.

KARI and others have already outlined specific upgrade directions, such as developing and installing solid fuel boosters and improving the engine from the 70-year-old open-cycle gas generator combustion method to a closed-cycle staged combustion method with higher fuel efficiency and pressure to increase thrust. Technologies to control thrust for engine recovery and reuse were also planned, and the prototype development of the closed-cycle staged combustion engine is nearly complete, expected to finish around 2024. Recently, following the Korea-US summit, the range restrictions on solid fuel missiles were lifted, creating institutional conditions.

Especially, with a payload capacity of only 1.5 tons, it is impossible to find a foothold in the fiercely competitive international satellite launch vehicle market, making the upgrade project essential. Compared to competing countries' space launch vehicles such as France's Ariane 5 (9.6 tons), the US's Atlas V (8.1 tons), SpaceX's Falcon 9 (23 tons to low Earth orbit), and Russia's Soyuz 2.1a (4.8 tons to sun-synchronous orbit), there is still a long way to go. It is reported that KARI submitted goals during the feasibility study process to increase the maximum altitude to over 700 km and raise the payload capacity to over 2.8 tons.

However, during the feasibility study, the review committee opposed the upgrade project, citing that Nuriho has not yet succeeded in its final launch, leaving 'uncertainty,' and thus the upgrade is not urgent. Some were skeptical, saying that the upgrade goals planned by KARI should be more 'challenging,' such as enabling fuel replacement and reuse like the cutting-edge rockets being developed in the US.

Ultimately, the budget plan for the Nuriho upgrade project failed to pass the feasibility study, and the Ministry of Science and ICT and KARI are reportedly rewriting the plan within this year to undergo the review process again.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official said, "Among the project goals of industrialization, repeated launches, and performance improvement, the performance improvement part was raised as needing further review," adding, "There were opinions that since Nuriho is scheduled to launch in October, the decision should be made after seeing the results, and also opinions that to catch up with the high overseas technology level, another leap is necessary."

If the feasibility study review repeatedly hinders progress, there are concerns that the plan to launch a lunar lander with a domestically developed launch vehicle by 2030 could be disrupted. There are also criticisms that the feasibility study review committee confuses the research field with unrealistic perspectives. A research official criticized, "The upgrade project is clearly included in the basic plan for Nuriho set by the government, and the R&D budget is being executed accordingly, but it was ignored," adding, "Given the nature of research and development, it is natural to continue R&D steadily to own and operate the launch vehicle regardless of whether the launch in October fails or succeeds. We have just reached the level of making a Pony, but they are asking us to produce a Genesis."