Korea’s Perigee to launch first private satellite from local site

A rendering of maritime launch pad in Jeju Island [Photo provided by Perigee Aerospace]

Perigee Aerospace Inc., a South Korean rocket developer, said on Monday that it will launch an upper-end of BlueWhale 1 (BW1), a satellite launcher fueled with liquid methane, in Jeju Island before the end of this year.

BW1 is a space launcher in the development to put satellites for weather or big data purposes into orbit. If successful, it will bring it closer for the company to launch its satellite rocket.

The launch site of the topside rocket will be at a maritime launch pad off the coast of Jeju Island. If the launch proves successful, Perigee Aerospace will be the first private company to have a launcher lift off from a launch site in South Korea.

Back in March, aerospace startup company Innospace successfully fired Korea’s first private satellite rocket HANBIT-TLV. The launch site, however, was the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil.

Authorities in Jeju Island, on the same day, signed a memorandum of understanding with four aerospace developers, including Perigee Aerospace.