Hanwha, KAIST to co-launch space research center

Hanwha Group will launch space technology research and commercial projects together with South Korea’s top science and engineering university, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

The two parties signed an agreement on May 17 to set up a space research center at the university, with Hanwha contributing a fund of 10 billion won ($8.8 million).

The center will be created directly under the university’s vice president for research and will be the largest space institute of its kind, jointly established by a private company and an academic institution.

From the Hanwha Group side, Space Hub, the recently created internal task force headed by the group’s heir apparent and the president of Hanwha Solutions Kim Dong-kwan, will be responsible for technological development as well as commercialization initiatives based on the joint research.

The first research project by Space Hub and KAIST will be the development of low-orbit inter-satellite link (ISL) technology. The ISL technology is designed to transfer data from one satellite to another through laser communication.

The low-orbit satellites will roam relatively close to Earth, only about 500 km from its surface. The proximity enables faster transfer of data, which can be transmitted even faster when ISL technology is applied.

The company said that the ISL technology will allow an internet signal in even the remotest of areas, as well as to airplanes and ships in operation.

Morgan Stanley projects that the low-orbit satellite communication industry will grow at an average annual rate of 36% by 2040.

Hanwha says the ISL technology can be applied to the fields of satellite communication and urban air mobility (UAM) businesses run by its affiliate Hanwha Systems.

“The creation of the new center marks an important milestone in the country’s history of space development. The center will stand out in that it goes beyond research -- to actual commercialization in the space segment,” said a KAIST official.

Write to Kyung-min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.