Hanwha to develop storable bipropellant thrusters

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sun, September 24, 2023 | 02:41

Energy

Hanwha to develop storable bipropellant thrusters

Posted : 2021-06-28 16:09

Updated : 2021-06-28 18:51

Hanwha employees enters the headquarter building in Seoul. Korea Times file

By Kim Hyun-bin

Hanwha is speeding up efforts to become a leading player in the space sector with Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn's eldest son, Hanwha Solutions President Kim Dong-kwan, taking charge.

The younger Kim has set space development as one of the conglomerates future growth engines along with eco-friendly business including solar and hydrogen power.

As part of the efforts, Hanwha Corp. will localize development of a storable bipropellant thruster, a key component for maintaining satellites in orbit.

Hanwha and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) will spend 8 billion won on developing the storable bipropellant thruster by 2025.

Thrusters are utilized to control and change a satellite's orbital position, which could be disrupted by rare disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field, and the transitional gravitational pull exerted by other planets as their orbits bring them comparatively closer to the Earth.

Korean satellites have so far been built with thrusters imported from countries such as Germany, but Hanwha and KARI are seeking to develop an advanced bipropellant thruster that will allow Korean-built satellites to stay in their predetermined orbits longer than their predecessors.

Satellites achieve their set orbital positioning through the use of their own thrusters after separating from the main rocket, and have to have an operating lifespan of at least 15 years.

Bipropellant thrusters store fuel and oxidant in separate tanks, and the dual system increases efficiency and allows storage of a large amount of fuel for a lengthy period of time.

"It will be a big step forward if we can localize the development of key technologies, as before we had to rely 100 percent on foreign companies," Hanwha Corp. CEO Kim Seung-mo said.

Since the mid-1990s, Hanwha has been developing and producing monopropellant thrusters that have been used on Korea's multi-purpose and next-generation satellites currently in operation.

Hanwha Solutions President Kim Dong-kwan

Many countries are investing heavily to take the lead in various aspects of the space industry, which is the reason Hanwha decided to launch its "Space Hub" initiative to better establish a foundation for Korea to compete in the global arena.

Kim Dong-kwan has been at the forefront of this effort. According to Hanwha, Kim has brought together all the key technologies for space development, which were dispersed at diverse affiliates within the conglomerate, into one through the Space Hub.

Through the initiative, Kim plans to benchmark and analyze foreign private enterprises that are currently leading in space development, and set a direction for research and the building of a business model suitable for Hanwha.

"To compete with global companies we need expertise that we will fully support. We will find a path for space development through our engineers," Kim said at the Space Hub launch ceremony in March.

hyunbin@koreatimes.co.kr