KAIST said on the 26th that the cube satellite "K-HERO," developed by Professor Choi Won-ho's team in the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, is set to head into space aboard the fourth Nuri launch vehicle, which will lift off in the early morning on the 27th from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla.
This fourth Nuri launch is the first overseen by Hanwha Aerospace after a technology transfer from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and it is expected to mark a meaningful moment in Korea's transition to a private-led space industry. Alongside the main payload, the No. 3 next-generation mid-size satellite, 12 cube satellites developed by academia, industry, and research institutes will be carried, and K-HERO is one of them.
K-HERO moved into full-scale development when Professor Choi Won-ho's team was selected as a basic satellite development team in the KARI-led "2022 Cube Satellite Competition."
K-HERO is a 3U standard cube satellite measuring 10 cm by 10 cm by 30 cm and weighing 3.9 kg, built to directly verify whether a 150W-class Hall thruster for ultra-small satellites developed by the team operates in space. It is the first case of directly demonstrating an ultra-small Hall thruster made with domestic technology in space.
Simply put, a Hall thruster is a "space engine that runs on electricity," an electric propulsion engine that moves a satellite slowly but very efficiently using electricity. Unlike rockets, which burn a lot of propellant to generate a large, instantaneous force, it works by using electricity to turn a gas (xenon) into plasma and expelling it rapidly to the rear to push the satellite forward. Thanks to its high fuel efficiency, the Hall thruster is considered a key technology in the era of small and constellation satellites.
Professor Choi Won-ho's team began Korea's first Hall thruster research in 2003 and secured core technology based on plasma physics. In 2013, they successfully mounted a 200W-class Hall thruster on the "KAIST Science and Technology Satellite No. 3," proving the practicality of the technology, and this time they improved it to operate at even lower power (30W) to develop a next-generation model aimed at ultra-small satellites.
CosmoVido, a laboratory startup from Professor Choi's team, also took part in developing K-HERO, further strengthening the foundation for commercialization.
Professor Choi Won-ho said, "Starting with K-HERO, the number of small satellites equipped with electric thrusters will begin to increase in earnest in Korea," adding, "The Hall thruster being verified this time can be used for a variety of missions, including low-Earth-orbit constellation surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, 6G Network communication satellites, very-low-orbit high-resolution satellites, and asteroid probes."
KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung said, "The K-HERO launch is a meaningful opportunity to once again directly verify KAIST's electric propulsion technology in space on an ultra-small satellite platform, and it will be an important turning point that further elevates the competitiveness of Korea's small satellite technology," adding, "KAIST will continue to contribute to the advancement of Korea's space technology."