Hanwha, HD Hyundai, and KAI Complete the launch success

Korea’s domestically developed launch vehicle Nuri continued its streak of consecutive successes by placing practical satellites into target orbit in its fourth launch. This achievement is considered highly significant as it represents results from a structure where private companies, including Hanwha Aerospace, which oversaw overall manufacturing, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which managed launch pad operations, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), which manufactured the Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3, all participated.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on Nov. 27 that the fourth launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle (Nuri), independently developed to secure domestic space transportation capabilities, was successful.

Nuri was launched at 1:13:00 AM on this day and proceeded normally through all flight processes according to the predetermined flight sequence. The combustion of Nuri’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stage engines and fairing separation were conducted normally, successfully completing the separation of the Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3 and 12 cubesats mounted on Nuri.

KARI confirmed through initial analysis of telemetry data containing the launch vehicle’s flight information that Nuri successfully separated and positioned the Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3 and 12 cubesats into the target orbit (600km).

The Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3 confirmed normal satellite status, including the deployment of solar panels, through its first communication with the Sejong Station ground station in Antarctica at around 1:55 AM. The 12 secondary payload satellites will also undergo status checks according to their respective communication schedules.

With this achievement, Nuri recorded consecutive successes from its 2nd, 3rd, and now 4th launches. The Korea AeroSpace Administration evaluated this as highly significant for improving Nuri’s reliability and establishing independent space transportation capabilities.

Yoon Young-bin, Administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, emphasized, “The government plans to launch Nuri two more times by 2027 while simultaneously pursuing the development of next-generation launch vehicles with enhanced performance compared to Nuri, further strengthening our country’s space development capabilities.”

This launch is particularly significant as it marks the first system integration launch where Hanwha Aerospace took overall manufacturing responsibility. Unlike previous launches where KARI led Nuri’s manufacturing, the 4th launch was the first where Hanwha Aerospace took overall charge of Nuri’s production.

Hanwha Aerospace was responsible for the entire manufacturing process, including quality management of component participating companies, stage assembly, complete vehicle assembly, and final assembly. At the launch site, approximately 30 personnel participated, including 4 at the Mission Director Center (MDC), 16 at the Launch Control Center (LCC), and 10 at the Launch Pad (LP), performing all launch preparation, inspection, and operation procedures. This structure simultaneously accumulates launch vehicle manufacturing and operation technologies.

Hanwha Aerospace’s role will expand further in the 5th and 6th launches. In the 5th launch, the operation console and operational scope will broaden, and in the 6th launch, the company will lead most consoles except for the Mission Director (MD) and Launch Director (LD).

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries supported the launch success by comprehensively operating the launch pad system. The Second Launch Pad infrastructure was completed in 2020, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries designed, manufactured, and installed all areas of the launch pad system, including Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE), Fuel Ground Support Equipment (FGSE), and Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE), using proprietary technology. Subsequently, the company has overseen all launch processes, from pre-launch inspections and testing to launch operations. The localization rate of launch pad system process technology is 100%.

KAI not only manufactured the Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3 for Nuri’s 4th launch but also performed the manufacturing of the 1st stage propulsion system, a core component of the launch vehicle, and final vehicle assembly.

The Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3, manufactured under KAI’s overall supervision, is a satellite designed for space technology acquisition and space science mission performance. It is a medium-class satellite independently developed by KAI utilizing standard platform technology developed for the existing No. 1 satellite.

The Next Generation Medium Satellite No. 3 will perform missions using three payloads: △Earth aurora and atmospheric observation (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) △ionospheric disturbance observation through space plasma-magnetic field measurement (KAIST) △bio 3D printing-based stem cell three-dimensional differentiation culture verification (Hallym University).

KAI plans to actively pursue satellite export commercialization in the future, utilizing the global competitiveness and localization technology of the medium satellite standard platform secured through the Next Generation Medium Satellite development project. Particularly, based on its low-cost multipurpose medium-class satellite development capabilities, KAI plans to pursue overseas market exports to South America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in conjunction with KAI’s aircraft exports.