Ground broken for integrated research center to produce large satellites

By Lim Chang-won Posted : March 4, 2019, 16:49 Updated : March 4, 2019, 16:49

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- Ground was broken for South Korea's integrated private space center to design, test and produce mid-sized and big satellites with independent technologies. Construction of the center run by South Korea's sole aircraft maker, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), will be completed in June next year.

The center located near KAI's head office in the southern city of Sacheon will have a satellite assembly plant, a test site and a building for 550 researchers and engineers.

"The construction of the space center will become a leap forward for the civilian-led industrialization of our space industry," KAI CEO Kim Jo-won said Monday in a statement. "Through cooperation with small and medium-sized aerospace specialists, we will devote our efforts to advance into the domestic and overseas markets."

Together with civilian and military aircraft, KAI has been involved in the development of small satellites so far. In December last year, the aircraft maker won an important deal to develop spy satellites installed with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) that generates high-resolution remote sensing imagery by September 2025.

SAR uses the motion of a radar antenna over a target region to provide finer spatial resolution than conventional beam-scanning radars. The deal was awarded by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), a military research body in charge of developing reconnaissance satellites.

South Korea's space program has seen slow progress as other countries are reluctant to transfer core technologies. Three space rockets have been launched but two fired in 2009 and 2010 failed to reach orbit. The third one using Russian technology put a satellite into orbit.

In November last year, a test rocket powered by South Korea's first home-made booster engine reached the maximum height of 209 kilometers (129 miles). Engineers hailed the test launch as significant progress in a state project to launch a full three-stage indigenous rocket in 2021.
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