Korean Air said on the 3rd that it will begin developing a reusable methane-based space launch vehicle engine that delivers 35-ton (t) class thrust together with Hyundai Rotem. The aim is to secure core technologies for launch vehicle competitiveness by developing a next-generation standard engine.
Korean Air will lead development of the turbopump, the core of the methane engine system. A turbopump is a component in a launch vehicle engine that compresses methane fuel and oxidizer at high pressure and high speed.
Because it must withstand cryogenic propellants at minus 180 degrees Celsius (℃) and hot gas reaching several hundred degrees while rotating tens of thousands of times per minute, the technical difficulty of development is high.
A meeting to launch the project will be held in the afternoon at the KW Convention in Daejeon. About 70 participants will attend, including the Korea Research Institute for defense Technology planning and advancement (KRIT), Korean Air, Hyundai Rotem, as well as government agencies such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and representatives from Doosan Enerbility, Perigee Aerospace, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), and related university departments.
Participants will explain implementation plans for each subproject and discuss in depth step-by-step technology verification measures and risk management plans for successful development. The project will run through Oct. 2030 with a total budget of 49 billion won.
Kim Kyeong-nam, head of the aircraft technology research institute at Korean Air, said, "By pooling the technological know-how and capabilities that Korean Air has accumulated, we will surely complete the development of a high-performance, high-reliability turbopump optimized for methane engines," adding, "Through this, we will lead the domestic space industry ecosystem by proactively responding to military satellite launch vehicle development and future defense demand."