Hanwha to lead Korea’s next-gen space rocket project

South Korea's homegrown Nuri space rocket blasts off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, May 25, 2023. (Hanwha Aerospace)

South Korea’s largest aerospace company Hanwha Aerospace said Wednesday it has been selected as a private entity to lead the nation’s next-generation space rocket project.

The Public Procurement Service started the bidding process in December last year and Hanwha competed against Korea Aerospace Industries.

After a thorough review of its technical capabilities and project sustainability evaluation on March 12, Hanwha was decided as the preferred bidder.

Hanwha plans to sign the final contract after negotiating deal conditions with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the state-run space agency, in the coming days.

The new space project, officially named the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-III, aims to develop a new launch vehicle capable of sending a lunar lander to the moon in 2032.

The upcoming rocket is expected to have a mission capacity some three times stronger than the homegrown Nuri rocket, which proved Korea’s ability to successfully place a satellite weighing 1 metric ton or higher into orbit through a couple of launches in 2022 and 2023.

By integrating private enterprises into the full spectrum of space exploration activities -- from design to launch operations -- South Korea takes a step toward a genuine private-led space economy.

Since the development of the scientific observation-use Korean Sounding Rocket-III in 1999, Hanwha has enhanced its technological prowess in developing launch vehicles and their engines over the past 26 years.

"This is a difficult but crucial task that must be undertaken by someone for the national interest. We will focus our capabilities with a sense of mission and responsibility along with other participating companies," said Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il.

By Park Se-ra(serap1005@heraldcorp.com)