Korean Air Lines said on the 3rd that it signed a memorandum of understanding with French space mobility company Exotrail on the orbit transfer vehicle (OTV) business.
Under the agreement, the two corporations will cooperate on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite transport and payload hosting (sending scientific and communications instruments attached to commercial satellites), ▲ multi-orbit satellite deployment, and ▲ satellite life extension and refueling.
To that end, the two companies plan to form a joint working group and begin working-level talks on specific launch plans and optimizing the orbit transport expense structure.
An OTV is a solution that precisely transports small satellites separated from a large space launch vehicle to their final target orbits. It corresponds to the "last-mile delivery (the final stage of delivering a product to a customer)" in the space transport field.
After inserting satellites into their target orbits, it performs core roles in space infrastructure such as in-orbit service (In-Orbit-Service), which supports stable satellite operations including orbit adjustment, life extension, and refueling, and payload hosting.
Korean Air Lines joined hands with Exotrail to capture demand from ultra-small cluster satellite systems being pursued in the defense sector and from private commercial satellites, and to expand its space transport business. Exotrail decided to work with Korean Air Lines to secure a strategic foothold for entry into Asia.
Korean Air Lines has accumulated years of experience in launch vehicles and satellites, and possesses technology to design mission control systems optimized for OTV satellite transport services and space system structures and control systems.
A Korean Air Lines official said, "By combining Exotrail's proven space heritage with Korean Air Lines' aircraft and space system manufacturing capabilities, we will secure overwhelming technological competitiveness in the future defense and New Space markets."