[Exclusive] South Korean Satellite Will Not Use Russian Launch Vehicle... Space Development Cooperation Virtually Severed

Government Deems Small Satellite Produced by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute as 'Strategic Goods' in Sanctions Against Ukraine Invasion
Use of Soyuz Launch Vehicle Banned Due to Sanctions on Russia
Similar Situation for Other Satellites Like Chungjung-hyeong 2 and Arirang 6
30-Year Korea-Russia Space Development Cooperation Faces Full Suspension Risk

Last March, officials from the Russian Federal Space Agency, in protest against international sanctions, removed the Taegeukgi and other related national flags from the Soyuz launch vehicle.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Our government has classified the small satellite developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) as a 'strategic item,' making it virtually impossible to use Russian launch vehicles. This move is interpreted as a de facto severance of the space development cooperation that has continued for over 30 years with Russia, which invaded Ukraine.

According to KASI on the 25th, the Strategic Items Management Office under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) ruled on the 17th that the small space weather observation satellite Toyosat developed by KASI is a "(sanctioned) strategic item." Two days later, KASI inquired with the relevant department of MOTIE about the possibility of exporting the Toyosat satellite to Russia, but received a response stating that "(strategic items) are prohibited due to sanctions imposed at the end of February." Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, the government banned exports to Russia of items designated by the four major international export control regimes as part of international sanctions. Additionally, although not strategic items, the government announced controls on 57 items including semiconductors, information and communication, sensors, and aerospace, which the United States has designated as independent export control items.

As a result, KASI's original plan to launch the Toyosat satellite using a Russian launch vehicle was canceled. Unless the war ends and sanctions are lifted, it will be difficult to export satellites to Russia. KASI is now scrambling to find countermeasures. The issue of the $780,000 already paid (65% of the total $1.2 million launch fee) is a problem. KASI had initially planned to launch in the second half of last year, but the launch was postponed to June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only to be caught up in the fallout from the war. Russia has refused to launch satellites from countries participating in sanctions against it.

Lee Jae-jin, head of KASI's Space Science Division, explained, "We were discussing a launch with the Russian side for the first half of next year, but it was ruled as an export-prohibited item," adding, "It is difficult to either forfeit the already paid amount and use another launch vehicle or expect a refund." The Toyosat satellite consists of four nanosatellites each weighing less than 10 kg. It was planned to be the world's first to observe space weather phenomena such as solar wind, auroras, and geomagnetic storms through formation flying of small satellites, monitoring various plasma phenomena in the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere.

Along with this, other satellites contracted for launch with Russia this year, namely the second Next-Generation Medium-Sized Satellite (Next-Gen Medium 2) and the sixth Multipurpose Practical Satellite (Arirang 6), are facing the same situation. Arirang 6 was scheduled to be launched on a Russian Angara rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, and Next-Gen Medium 2 was planned to be launched using a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the second half of this year. These two satellites are assembled with much more precise and advanced technology components than Toyosat, so they are certain to be included in the list of items subject to sanctions against Russia. A Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) official stated, "We are aware that satellite exports have become impossible due to sanctions against Russia," and added, "We are exploring various alternatives."

With the realization of South Korea's sanctions against Russia, the nearly 30-year-long Korea-Russia space development cooperation has become virtually impossible to continue. South Korea has conducted astronaut dispatch programs to the International Space Station (ISS) with Russia since 2008 and collaborated on the Naro launch vehicle in 2013, indirectly acquiring manned space and rocket manufacturing technologies. In particular, many satellites were launched into orbit using the cheapest Russian launch vehicles.