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South Korea launches the World rocket.

According to a recent report by Space News, the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) announced South Korea's latest space development plan at the 45th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research. Analysts said that the KASA's release of the new space development plan is intended to actively participate in international space cooperation and pave the way for the next step of development.

It is reported that the Korea Aerospace Administration was established on May 27 this year and is headquartered in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. The agency is affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Technology, ICT and other departments of South Korea. It is mainly responsible for the formulation of South Korea's aerospace policy, aerospace industry research and development, and talent training. Its members include the director, deputy director, director of the aerospace mission headquarters, as well as domestic and foreign experts and relevant civil servants on temporary secondment. In November 2022, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol issued a "Space Economy Roadmap" and proposed the idea of ​​establishing the Korea Aerospace Administration. In January 2024, the South Korean National Assembly passed a bill approving the establishment of the Korea Aerospace Administration. On May 27, the Korea Aerospace Administration was established and announced a series of long-term plans, including landing on the moon by 2032 and landing on Mars by 2045.

According to reports, the latest development plan released by the Korea Aerospace Administration is mainly divided into three aspects. First, strengthen space transportation capabilities. While continuing to promote the "World" rocket project, the Korea Aerospace Administration has invested in reusable rockets and launch facilities. Second, improve satellite research and development technology and promote the design and development of 15-centimeter high-resolution imaging satellites. Third, plan space exploration missions. In addition to attempting to launch lunar landers and Mars landers, the Korea Aerospace Administration also plans to launch a spacecraft to observe the sun. In addition, South Korea has made further plans for the aerospace economy.

The confidence of the Korea Aerospace Administration in the long-term plan comes from a space industry development plan announced by the Ministry of Science, Technology and ICT in March this year. The plan includes nine items in three major areas: building space industry infrastructure, consolidating the space industry ecosystem, and expanding the foundation of the space industry cluster. In May, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol elaborated on this space project, known as the "Gwanggaeto the Great Space Program." According to the plan, by 2027, the South Korean government will expand the relevant budget to more than 1.5 trillion won (about 1 billion US dollars); by 2045, South Korea's investment in the space field will reach 100 trillion won and cultivate 1,000 space companies.

Although South Korea has great ambitions to enter space, practical problems still need to be solved.

On the one hand, aerospace technology is still immature. In 2009, South Korea launched the "Nuri" rocket for the first time. After two failures, it was successfully launched in 2013. In 2021, South Korea failed to launch the second-generation rocket "World". In 2022, it finally successfully sent a test satellite and other small satellites into low-Earth orbit. However, the rocket's low-Earth orbit carrying capacity is only 2.5 tons, which is a big gap compared with other countries. For example, the maximum low-Earth orbit payload of the US "Falcon" 9 rocket is 22.8 tons, the low-Earth orbit payload of the European "Ariane" 5 launch vehicle is 21 tons, and the maximum low-Earth orbit payload of the Japanese H2B launch vehicle is 19 tons. In addition, the South Korean lunar probe will enter the lunar orbit on the US "Falcon" 9 rocket in 2022. Since the United States is involved in the measurement, control and manufacturing process of the project, the "gold content" of South Korea's lunar exploration technology remains to be evaluated.

On the other hand, there is a large funding gap. Space exploration is a capital-intensive field, and many countries and regional organizations have made long-term and huge investments in this field. In the US government's fiscal year 2025 budget released in March this year, NASA's budget was US$25.4 billion. In April, Japanese government agencies announced that they would provide 1 trillion yen (approximately US$6.6 billion) in financial assistance to companies and universities related to the space industry over a 10-year period. In 2021, the European Union invested nearly 9 billion euros in the European Space Agency as special funds for the "EU Space Program." South Korea currently invests only 1 trillion won in the space field. Even if the funds are expanded to 1.5 trillion won in 2027, it will still not be enough to support South Korea's huge space program. (Tian Hongcui)

(China National Defense News)