SpaceX's Falcon 9 to send two KAI satellites into space

Industry

Published: 01 Dec. 2023, 12:08 Updated: 01 Dec. 2023, 17:13

SpaceX's Falcon 9 to send two KAI satellites into space

A computer-generated image of the Compact Advanced Satellite 500-2 satellite developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute [KAI]

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will launch its satellite into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2025.

KAI signed a launch service contract for its Compact Advanced Satellite 500-2 (CAS500-2) with SpaceX, the Korean aircraft and satellite developer said Friday.

The latest agreement follows a previous one for CAS500-4, which was signed in July 2021. Both CAS500-2 and CAS500-4 will be aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2025.

The CAS500-2, developed by KAI, was originally scheduled for a launch on a Russian spacecraft, but the plan was canceled after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The 500-kilogram satellite will be deployed into orbit 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the Earth to carry out public missions such as land resource management and disaster response.

The CAS500 project aims to build a platform for a 500-kilogram-class standard satellite and is part of the government-led program to foster the private space sector through the satellite technology transfer from the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to KAI.

The Compact Advanced Satellite 500-2, or CAS500-2, is under development at Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)'s space center in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang. [KAI]

In 2015, KARI and KAI began to develop the CAS500-1, which was launched in March 2021 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and KAI took the helm from the second set of the CAS500 series. Three more CAS500 satellites are to come until 2025.

“With the global launch vehicle market in turmoil, KAI has successfully cleared the way for a launch in collaboration with SpaceX,” Kim Ji-hong, who is leading R&D at KAI, said in a release.

“We will lead the new space sector by smoothly carrying out the whole process of the CAS500 project, from the development of the satellite to the final launch.”

KAI established Korea’s first private space center equipped with a satellite manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang.

The company signed a 67 billion won ($51.3 million) agreement with Korea’s Agency for Defense Development in May to develop a nanosatellite system, extending its satellite portfolio, which has been mostly focused on mid to large-sized models such as a geostationary multi-purpose satellite system.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]