Seven auxiliary satellites to be mounted on the Nuri rocket's fifth launch have been selected.
The Korea Aerospace Administration and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced on the 11th that they have selected seven auxiliary satellites for the fifth launch of the Nuri rocket. From December 9 of last year to January 3 of this year, a call for auxiliary satellites was conducted targeting industry, research institutions, and government agencies, and the final selection was made after expert evaluation.
The selected auxiliary satellites this time come in various sizes including 3U, 6U, 12U, and 16U. One unit (1U) measures 10 cm in width, depth, and height. For example, dimensions of width (10 cm), depth (10 cm), and height (30 cm) correspond to 3U.
Among the 3U satellites, the 'SLEDGE' from OandB Space, aimed at ionospheric observation, the 'PERSAT' from Quaternion, intended for analyzing marine litter currents in Jeju, and 'COMMAND v1' from Perigee Aerospace, designed for monitoring space weather and capturing images of space debris, have been selected.
The 6U cube satellites include 'UEL-Y-Sys' from the Unmanned Exploration Research Institute, aimed at monitoring fine dust, and 'Sejong 5' from Hancom InSpace, intended for hyperspectral imaging for public use. The 12U cube satellite is 'BEE-1012' from SpaceRintek, aimed at the growth of pharmaceutical protein crystals in a space environment, while the 16U cube satellite, 'Daejeon Sat-1', developed by Daejeon Metropolitan City, is for observing urban spatial changes and verifying space component technologies.
The fifth launch of the Nuri rocket is expected to carry a total of 15 satellites, including the main satellite, a small satellite cluster consisting of 2 to 6 units, the seven cube satellites selected through this call for proposals, and an additional two cube satellites under development at domestic universities (Chosun University, Pusan National University, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) selected through the '2022 Cube Satellite Competition' for verification of domestic components and parts.
This call for proposals also included an additional cube satellite intended for the fourth Nuri rocket launch scheduled for this year. The 'PERSAT' from Quaternion is aimed at analyzing marine litter currents in Jeju, while the fourth launch of the Nuri rocket is expected to carry the main satellite, the Next-Generation Medium Satellite 3, along with 12 auxiliary cube satellites.
Park Jae-sung, chief of the Space Transport Department at the Korea Aerospace Administration, noted, "We aim to continuously provide opportunities for the Nuri rocket to carry satellites to enhance its utility and for the technology verification and experience accumulation of domestically developed satellites in space environments," adding, "We will take thorough measures to ensure there are no delays in preparations for the fourth launch of the Nuri rocket while also regularly checking the readiness of the launch vehicle and selected satellites for the planned fifth launch next year."