Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace to develop small rocket system

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, is developing system technology for small projectiles that launch a satellite weighing about 500 kilograms into space with the country’s aeronautics and space agency.

Hanwha Aerospace announced the plan on Dec. 6 to be worked with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Hanwha Aerospace dispatched employees dedicated to the project to the agency for analysis of the development plans.

The company and the KARI aim to complete the conceptual design by March 2022 after a system requirement review to decide the projectile’s specifications and purposes.

“The project is to design a projectile of low costs and high efficiency for a proposal of development plans,” said a Hanwha Aerospace source.

Small rockets have been drawing strong interest thanks to the growing demand for small satellites across the globe.

In South Korea, demand for the government’s satellite is also expected to increase with plans to launch ones with a weight of less than 150 kg in 2026.

“We will actively participate in the government’s projects with economical and reliable small projectile system solutions,” Hanwha Aerospace CEO Shin Hyun-woo said.

Hanwha Aerospace signed a deal for the project with the KARI in May with the company’s technologies proved through South Korea’s first domestically designed and developed space rocket Nuri.

Write to Jeong Min Nam at peux@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.