The Korea Aerospace Administration, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Korea Coast Guard held a meeting on detailed design review of the 'small satellite system' from the 2nd to the 4th in Busan.
The small satellite system development project aims to develop and operate a small satellite system for rapid monitoring of crisis situations on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding waters, as well as enhancing national security response capabilities. This major project, which started in 2022, will involve an investment of 1.4223 trillion won by 2030. The main research institute is the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, with participants including Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, the National Security Technology Research Institute, and the Satellite Research Institute.
During this detailed design review meeting, the final check was conducted to see if the satellite system was designed in a configuration that meets the required performance and also confirmed the feasibility of proceeding to prototype manufacturing, system integration, and testing stages within the approved budget and schedule.
Relevant agencies are beginning manufacturing of the flight model for the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) verification satellite, aiming for an actual space launch. After undergoing various ground tests, the launch is planned for the second half of 2026. Following this, launches of SAR cluster satellites and electro-optical (EO) satellites will be carried out sequentially.
Kim Jin-hee, head of the satellite division at the Korea Aerospace Administration, noted, 'We have passed an important phase in the small satellite system development project, and we will actively support the subsequent development processes to contribute to the domestic space industry by providing opportunities for domestic launch vehicles and securing key technologies in space for national disaster response and infrastructure management.'