The Korea AeroSpace Administration said on the 23rd that it will issue a notice for two projects under the "Space Pioneer Project (R&D)" from the 24th to Dec. 23 to secure, with domestic independent technology, high-precision weather and environmental observation as well as wide-area water resources and monitoring functions.
The "Space Pioneer Project (R&D)" is a program to develop 16 space-priority technologies by 2030 with the goal of enhancing national space technology capabilities.
This notice covers two items related to the development of new satellite payload technologies that will be core to the Korean satellite system: ▲ development of a quasi-optical antenna system and low-noise receiver for a microwave radiometer payload ▲ development of digital beamforming technology for a high-resolution wide-area SAR payload based on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO).
The first project targets the development of a quasi-optical antenna system and a low-noise receiver for a high-resolution sounder that can be mounted on a low Earth orbit weather satellite. This is a core technology to secure national sovereignty in weather observation, including future high-resolution atmospheric observation, precipitation prediction, and climate change monitoring, and is expected to play an important role in localizing satellite observation payload technologies that have had high overseas dependence and in securing a demonstrable foundation for self-reliance.
The second project aims to develop digital beamforming technology for wide-area high-resolution C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) based on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). It focuses on securing technology for simultaneous high-resolution and wide-area observation applicable to low Earth orbit reconnaissance and surveillance and disaster response. In particular, the digital beamforming method is expected to expand observation coverage, improve ground resolution, and reduce the number of satellites compared with existing methods, and it is drawing attention as a core technology for implementing next-generation multi-satellite systems.