On Mar. 27 (local time), at the Beyond Gravity factory located near Emmen Air Base in Lucerne, Switzerland. When the massive sliding door opened, a hemispherical-cone structure about 20 meters tall came into view. It was a fairing (cover) that, aboard a launch vehicle heading into space, protects payloads such as satellites from heat and air resistance.
The fairing separates into two pieces at a certain altitude after liftoff. The technology that splits both sides precisely at a preset moment is considered a core technology in space launch vehicles. Beyond Gravity's fairing and thermal insulation were also applied to the European Space Agency (ESA)'s next-generation launch vehicle Ariane 6, which launched from French Guiana in South America late last year.
Beyond Gravity is known to account for up to 60% of the fairing market, often called the "roof" of rockets worldwide. The company's technology was also used in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s crewed space exploration program Artemis II. It supplied the solar array drive mechanism (SADM) that allows Orion astronauts to secure power from the sun during flight.
◇ Securing competitiveness in the space industry with precision technology
Beyond Gravity's competitiveness stems from the precision technologies that Switzerland's space industry has accumulated over a long period. Although Switzerland does not have a rocket launch pad on its territory, it has established itself as a space powerhouse based on its precision manufacturing capabilities. Rather than focusing on developing large rockets like the United States or China, it has concentrated on ultra-precision components and materials technologies that operate launch vehicles and satellites. The craftsmanship honed in the precision watch industry has carried over intact to the space industry.
As a result, Switzerland has built a space industry ecosystem centered on manufacturing and systems technology. The atomic clocks onboard Europe's satellite navigation system Galileo were also made by Switzerland. Beyond Gravity, which began at the state-owned defense group RUAG, became independent in 2022 and has grown into Europe's largest supplier of space components, and ClearSpace, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), signed the world's first commercialization contract with ESA for space debris removal.
Switzerland's technological prowess is evident throughout humanity's history of space exploration. When humanity first landed on the moon with Apollo 11 in 1969, the first equipment the astronauts set up on the lunar surface was not the U.S. flag but the "solar wind composition experiment" developed by researchers at the University of Bern. The University of Bern has continued to make its presence felt by participating in major international missions, including the Mercury probe BepiColombo and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE).
◇ "Korea should also target niches such as space computing"
Switzerland's "niche market" strategy offers important lessons for Korea. Rather than competing in scale with great powers, it should find its own "niche." Korea became the world's seventh launch vehicle nation with the successful launch of Nuri No. 4, but having entered the space industry late, its global market share remains small.
Nikolaus Thomas, a professor of experimental physics whom we met at the University of Bern on the 25th, said, "Korea's space industry still appears to be in its early stages." However, he noted, "Korea is in a geopolitical environment that makes the need for dual-use technologies apparent, and its technological level is advancing rapidly," adding, "Korea's space technology has potential uses beyond the military, and this could be an opportunity to expand space science."
Thomas Zurbuchen, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) who oversaw multiple space exploration missions at NASA, said on the 23rd, "As recently as 15 years ago, SpaceX launched only four rockets a year, but last year it was about 165, and going forward we will see launches more than once a day," adding, "The core revenue source in the space industry is now services, not rockets." The point is that revenue is being generated in fields that "use" rockets, such as satellite data, communications, imagery, and space computing.
Zurbuchen said, "Korea has a strong technological base and is particularly competitive in computing and semiconductors," adding, "This must be actively integrated into the space industry." He projected that demand for "space computing," which processes data with artificial intelligence in space rather than sending satellite data down to Earth, will grow significantly. He then emphasized, "Korea should seize this as a new opportunity," and "Each country should enter the space industry by focusing on what it does best."