South Korea hires SpaceX to launch GEO satellite tv for pc in 2027

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch the GEO-KOMPSAT-3 multipurpose communications satellite tv for pc to geostationary orbit within the second half of 2027, the nation’s newly established Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) this month.

South Korea’s Rising Partnership with SpaceX

The settlement is the newest in a sequence of launch contracts South Korea has clinched with the Elon Musk-owned house firm for its key house missions. The nation’s first robotic lunar orbiter launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in August 2022. Two of the 5 army reconnaissance satellites concerned within the “425 Challenge” have been launched on Falcon 9 rockets in December 2023 and April 2024, respectively, with the remaining three scheduled to launch SpaceX via 2025. 

The GEO-KOMPSAT-3 Mission

GEO-KOMPSAT-3, the three.7-ton satellite tv for pc to be launched beneath the newest deal, is also referred to as Chollian-3. Designed to switch the getting older GEO-Kompsat-1 launched in 2010, Chollian-3 will characteristic superior payloads for communications, catastrophe prevention, maritime security and the protected flight of plane, in accordance with KASA’s Aug. 8 assertion. The satellite tv for pc’s improvement started in 2021 with a finances of 411.8 billion received ($309 million). Whereas the Korea Aerospace Analysis Institute (KARI) is liable for creating the satellite tv for pc bus, Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Analysis Institute (ETRI) is answerable for the payloads. Among the many non-public companions concerned is Thales Alenia Area, which can present a completely reprogrammable Digital Processor for the satellite tv for pc’s Ka-band broadband communication system payload.

“The event of a multipurpose geostationary communications satellite tv for pc will play a job in advancing the nation’s applied sciences for GEO satellites,” mentioned Kim Jin-hee, head of KASA’s satellite tv for pc directorate, within the assertion. “It should additionally improve the nation’s security by offering satellite tv for pc communication companies for catastrophe prevention and public security.”

KASA’s Imaginative and prescient for Area Growth

KASA is concurrently creating a ‘positioning paper,’ due out this yr,  to stipulate new plans to bolster the competitiveness of its 4 key enterprise fields: house transportation, satellites, house science and exploration, and aeronautics. KASA Deputy Administrator Roh Kyung-won mentioned these plans would construct upon the company’s first coverage paper revealed in Could, with new parts designed to boost the non-public sector’s function within the nation’s house improvement. 
Among the many formidable tasks proposed in KASA’s first coverage paper are the event of {a partially} reusable launch automobile, very-high-resolution imaging satellites with a decision of 15 centimeters, and the development of a second nationwide launch website. Nevertheless, realizing these big-budget tasks is contingent upon securing parliamentary approval, leaving their future unsure.

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