The Korean launch vehicle Nuri will head into space on the fourth flight on the 27th, carrying a corps of satellites. Next-generation medium satellite No. 3 and 12 CubeSats will be launched at once, putting Korea's space technology to the test in one go, from space science research to space medicine, communications, space traffic management, and environmental monitoring.
Hyun Sung-yun, Korea AeroSpace Administration Korean Launch Vehicle Program Director, said at a press briefing held in Jongno District, Seoul, on the 14th, "All satellites have now been loaded onto Nuri, and the launch vehicle is in the final assembly stage." Park Jong-chan, Director General of the Korean Launch Vehicle Advancement Program, and each payload's development team also attended to share the status of launch and satellite preparations.
Director General Park Jong-chan said, "The next-generation medium satellite was delivered on Oct. 14, and the secondary payload satellites were delivered in three batches on Oct. 20, 29, and 31," and "the 12 CubeSats were assembled into the deployer on Nov. 3-4." The Nuri launch vehicle will assemble stages 1 and 2 and the third stage on the 17th, and then move into final checks.
This fourth launch will take place around 1 a.m. on the 27th. After 807 seconds from liftoff, the primary payload, next-generation medium satellite No. 3, will separate first. Then, starting at 827 seconds after liftoff, CubeSats will be deployed two at a time at roughly 20-second intervals, with a total of 12 released in sequence.
The primary payload, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)'s next-generation medium satellite No. 3, will head into space carrying an entire "space science laboratory." It carries three payloads: BioCabinet, ROKIS, and IAMMAP. BioCabinet is equipment that verifies whether 3D bio-printing and three-dimensional culture of stem cells are actually possible in the space environment. ROKIS is a spacewide-field camera that observes auroras and airglow, and IAMMAP precisely observes changes in the low-Earth space environment by measuring ionospheric plasma and magnetic fields.
Next-generation medium satellite No. 3 is an approximately 520-kilogram-class satellite that will carry out its mission for more than a year in a 600-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. A sun-synchronous orbit is designed so that the satellite passes over the same region at nearly the same local time every day, allowing observation of Earth and the space environment under consistent sunlight conditions. This orbit is used for long-term climate observation, magnetic field variation measurements, and aurora research.
The Nuri fourth launch time being set at around 1 a.m. is the result of the operating conditions of the next-generation medium satellite No. 3's ROKITS and IAMMAP equipment aligning with orbital characteristics. An official at the Korea AeroSpace Administration said, "Aurora and airglow observations are most suitable around midnight, when the influence of sunlight is small," and "the time when the sun-synchronous orbit the satellite needs to enter aligns with the launch site is around 1 a.m., so we set the launch time accordingly."
The 12 CubeSats heading to space together in this launch are divided into five categories by mission type. The field drawing the most attention is "space medicine." Space LiinTech's BEE-1000 attempts protein crystallization of immuno-oncology drugs in microgravity, and is symbolic in that it verifies the potential of using space as a new bio laboratory.
Another pillar is the verification of parts, power, and infrastructure to lay the foundation technologies of Korea's space industry. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)'s Domestic Device Component Space Verification Platform No. 1 is a satellite that exposes domestic electronic components to the actual space environment to secure reliability. Inha University's Inha LOSAT tests rollable solar cells that are rolled up and deployed, as part of an effort to overcome the power limits of ultrasmall satellites.
Attempts toward space traffic management and next-generation propulsion technology also continue. Urotech's COSMIC verifies "end-of-mission disposal" technology that autonomously leaves orbit after mission completion, experimenting with solutions to reduce space debris. KAIST's K-HERO is an unusual attempt to mount a domestically made small electric thruster on an ultrasmall satellite, which is significant for securing agile maneuverability needed in the era of satellite constellations.
There are also satellites aimed at future communications and navigation. Seoul National University's twin satellites SNUgLite-III will perform a high-difficulty experiment by flying in formation in orbit and tracking each other's relative position, a core technology for future operations of satellite constellations in which many ultrasmall satellites cooperate. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)'s ETRISAT tests low-orbit Internet of Things (IoT) service technology to connect communication shadow areas and aims to build a next-generation space-based communications network.
Satellites in the environment and Earth observation field provide more direct data. Sejong University's SPYRON observes marine plastics with an infrared sensor, and QUATERNION's PERSAT-01 monitors marine debris in the waters off Jeju while also testing domestic CubeSat technology. COSMOWORKS' ZACK-003 and ZACK-004, and HANCOM InSpace's Sejong No. 4 will conduct Earth observation with high-resolution optical and multispectral cameras.
Program Director Hyun Sung-yun said, "This launch is the first step in shifting space launch services from government-led to private-centered," and "the Korea AeroSpace Administration and all related organizations will prepare thoroughly until the last moment for a successful launch."