The Korea AeroSpace Administration will embark on the 'Future Space Economy Cornerstone Project' to support the localization of space components and the development of radiation environment testing methods.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) held an initiation meeting for the new Future Space Economy Cornerstone Project (R&D) on the 29th. The project aims to localize the development of small space components and create testing methods for space radiation environments for these components. A total of 22.5 billion won is planned to be invested over five years from 2025 to 2029.
The core of this project consists of two main parts. One is to directly develop and localize small space components that are currently dependent on foreign sources, and the other is to create radiation testing methods that will allow for testing whether satellite components operate normally in actual space radiation environments.
The localization development project aims to raise six core components, including three passive components and three active components, to mass production stage. This year, D-sub connectors, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), and temperature-compensated crystal oscillators (TCXO) will be the first to enter development. D-sub connectors will be handled by Yeonhap Precision, MLCC by Samwha Capacitor, and TCXO by PAS Electronics and MID.
The development of radiation testing methods for space will involve the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and QRT. They will prepare a testing method to confirm whether satellite components operate normally in space radiation environments using protons and heavy ions. Until now, such tests were primarily commissioned overseas, but in the future, it is expected to be possible domestically as well.
Han Chang-heon, head of the aerospace industry division at the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, 'Through this project, we will reduce reliance on foreign countries for core components and create a foundation for the stable growth of the domestic space industry.'
The Korea AeroSpace Administration successfully localized eight types of small components through the 'Space Development Foundation and Achievement Dissemination Project,' which ended last year. These components are scheduled to be tested for performance in actual space environments aboard the Nuri launch vehicle 4's first space verification satellite, set for launch in November.