KARI President Kim Seoung-jo

By Cho Mu-hyun


JEJU ISLAND — The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) seems buoyant after the recent successful launch of a commercial satellite and is pushing to take domestic space technology to the next level.

The multi-purpose satellite Arirang 3 went into orbit last month after a joint collaboration launch from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) provided the rockets, technology that South Korea currently lacks.

KARI plans to have that capability in place for the scheduled October launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 (KSLV-1) from the Naro Space Center on reclaimed land in Goheung County, South Jeolla province. It will be the third time KARI will have attempted to put a rocket to orbit after two previous failures.

The KSLV-1, made in collaboration with Russian technology providers, is 33 meters long and weighs 140 tons, and is capable of launching satellites in the 100- kilogram range. Korea currently has no secured technology to create rocket engines and liquidfuel propulsion systems, and is dependent on Russian engineers to make them.

“The motivation for this meeting was the huge interest in the KSLV-1, which will be launched this year,” said Kim Seoung-jo, president of KARI, at a press conference on Friday.

“We started late and our beginning was weak but we will become a space research institute that is recognized by the world.

“The Korean rocket has been under development for over two years and I am in talks with our director (Cho Gwang-rae) to see if we can hasten the progression of the project.” Kim added that the KSLV-1 team headed by Cho has been working hard at the Naro Space Center, and its strongest meaning was as a foundation for further projects.

A vastly upgraded vehicle KSLV-2, which KARI plans to launch sometime in 2015, will be 50 meters long and weigh 200 tons, and capable of launching satellites in the 1.5-ton range.

“We ultimately want personal aircraft vehicles in the future, which we believe will increase the current aircraft market to be vastly larger than the markets for semiconductors, ships and cars,” said Kim. “We must be prepared for that future.” According to technology management firm Futron, 15,700 people will use commercial suborbital space planes by the year 2021. KARI hopes to take a large part in the global race in realizing that technology.

KARI was inaugurated in 1989, and had a meager 72 employees and 6.73 billion won in annual funding, but has now grown to have 1,063 employees and funds of 295 billion won this year, says Kim, citing “spectacular growth” as a reason to back the organization further.

Besides the launch of KSLV-1, the research agency also has multi-purpose satellite Arirang 5 slated for launch in December and Arirang 3A for 2015. Kim says the organization plans to launch six more multi-purpose satellites by 2018.

“For Arirang 1 we needed American firm TRW, and for Arirang 2 we needed the support of Astrium and Elop for the systems’ upper and lower assembly,” said the president. “But Arirang 3 was completely built by our own technology, only needing minor consulting (from a foreign country) for the lift-off phase.”