The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Land Satellite 3 and 4 development project has passed a preliminary feasibility study. The plan is to invest a total project cost of 312.9 billion won and launch Land Satellite 3 in 2030 and 4 in 2031. In particular, for the first time among public satellite projects, a procurement method will be applied in which a private company directly develops and manufactures the satellite and supplies it to the government.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said on the 4th that the preliminary feasibility study was passed for the Land Satellite 3 and 4 development project, follow-on satellites to prepare for the end of missions for Land Satellite 1, which is currently in operation, and 2, which is in trial operation. Land Satellites 3 and 4 will enhance swath width, resolution, and imaging methods over existing satellites to observe land changes and disaster situations more precisely.
Land Satellite is Korea's first satellite dedicated to meeting public demand and building geospatial information. It is used for national core tasks such as land management, disaster response, and building national geospatial information.
In this preliminary feasibility study, actual utilization performance of Land Satellite was reflected in the economic evaluation. The economic benefits of the Land Satellite 3 and 4 development project are estimated at about 471 billion won in constant value, and the benefit-cost ratio (B/C) came to 1.11.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said the results of this economic analysis are meaningful in that they quantified the actual utilization performance of Land Satellite as economic benefits. It said this is a case that objectively explains the utilization value of public satellites.
Imagery from Land Satellite 1, which began full service in Dec. 2021, is being used for land change and facility management, agricultural and forestry management, disaster response, and building geospatial information. The number of images provided to central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions, or served to the public, reached about 1.6 million as of the end of last year.
The Land Satellite 3 and 4 development project will proceed with a procurement method in which, after the government presents the required missions and performance, private corporations develop and manufacture the satellites and supply them. This differs from existing projects in which the state led satellite research and development (R&D) centered on government-funded research institutes.
The government expects that, based on stable public demand, private satellite corporations will be able to enhance their technological capabilities and build a track record of entering overseas markets. It said that if the private development and purchase method expands to other public satellite projects in the future, a new market could be created for the domestic satellite industry.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to prepare detailed project implementation plans by the end of this year and begin the main project in 2027. Land Satellite 2, launched in May, is currently undergoing trial operations such as functionality checks and radiometric and geometric calibration of satellite imagery, and will be deployed for public service alongside Satellite 1 starting at the end of this year.
Kim Won-dae, head of the National Geographic Information Institute, said, "The passage of the preliminary feasibility study for the Land Satellite 3 and 4 development project is the result of recognizing that Land Satellite is a core national infrastructure necessary for government administration and public services, and an asset with economic value," and added, "We will successfully carry out this project to expand high-quality satellite imagery and geospatial information services that the public can feel, and contribute to the continuous growth of the domestic satellite industry."