The government has officially launched the development of a 100-ton class engine for the lunar lander and next-generation launch vehicle, and plans to launch a prototype of a microsatellite swarm in the first half of the year and install a solar coronagraph jointly developed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the International Space Station in the second half. The space development budget for this year to promote these projects has increased by 13.6% compared to the previous year, reaching 992.3 billion KRW.
Launch scene of the Korean-type launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II), designed and manufactured with purely domestic technology.
On the 28th, the government reviewed and finalized the '2024 Space Development Promotion Work Plan' centered on these contents at the 49th Space Development Promotion Working Committee meeting.
In the field of space exploration, a roadmap including plans for lunar, Mars, and asteroid exploration will be created, and the second phase of the lunar exploration project for the 2032 lunar landing will begin. In the space transportation sector, a private system integrator for the next-generation launch vehicle will be selected, and the design and development of a 100-ton class staged combustion cycle engine will be promoted. A project to build a small launch pad for private launch vehicles at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, will also commence. A prototype microsatellite swarm will be launched in the first half of the year to secure space assets for continuous surveillance of the Korean Peninsula.
Participation in the international joint black hole observation project, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which first observed a black hole using the Korea Space Radio Telescope Network’s Pyeongchang Radio Telescope, will continue. A solar coronagraph jointly developed by NASA and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute will be launched and installed on the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, these projects are planned to be executed in connection with the launch of the Korea Aerospace Agency.
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