South Korea

KASA •

The Republic of Korea's civil space programme has been formally consolidated under the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA, 우주항공청), established by Act 19743 and operational since May 27, 2024, with headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province [1]. KASA absorbed the space functions of the former Ministry of Science and ICT and operates alongside (and oversees) the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) [1][2]. The programme rests on a Korean Space Development Master Plan that targets approximately 100 trillion KRW (~$7.5B at 2024 FX) of cumulative public space spending across 2024-2028, including indigenous launcher development, lunar exploration, satellite constellations, and a Korean satellite-based augmentation system (KASS) [2][9]. Korea's launcher heritage runs from Naro (KSLV-I, jointly developed with Russia's Khrunichev, first launch attempt August 2009; first orbital success January 30, 2013) to Nuri (KSLV-II), the first fully indigenous Korean launcher capable of placing ~1,500 kg into a 600-800 km sun-synchronous orbit [3]. Nuri completed three test flights: a partial success on October 21 2021 (third stage cutoff 46 seconds early), full success on June 21 2022 (orbital placement of a 1.3-tonne dummy payload and a performance verification satellite), and a third full success on May 25 2023 placing a NEXTSat-2 primary payload plus seven secondary CubeSats into orbit; a fourth flight is planned for late 2025-2026 [3][8]. The next-generation KSLV-III is in development under KARI and Hanwha Aerospace, targeting first launch in 2030 with a ~10-tonne to LEO payload capability and reusable elements; programme cost is reported at approximately 2 trillion KRW (~$1.5B) [3][9]. On the spacecraft side, Danuri (KPLO, Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) launched August 4 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral SLC-40 — making Korea the seventh country with a Moon-orbiting spacecraft — and is operating from a 100 km circular polar lunar orbit through at least 2026 [6]. The Korean Lunar Lander, formally approved under the Korean Space Development Master Plan, targets first launch around 2032 on a KSLV-III with a soft-lander payload [9]. Crewed-rated KSLV-III capability and Korean astronaut selection / training programmes are on the post-2030 horizon under the KASA roadmap [2][9]. The industrial base is led by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI, KRX: 047810) as the largest listed Korean aerospace company, Hanwha Aerospace (KRX: 012450) as the prime contractor for Nuri launcher integration since 2022, and a fast-growing private launch sector including Innospace (which conducted the HANBIT-TLV test flight from Alcântara, Brazil on March 19 2023) and Perigee Aerospace (Blue Whale series in development) [4][9][10].

KASA + KARI •

Nuri (KSLV-II, Korea Space Launch Vehicle II, 한국형발사체 누리호) is the first fully indigenous Korean orbital launch vehicle, developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) under a 1.97 trillion KRW (~$1.5B) development envelope authorised by the National Assembly across 2010-2023 [1][3]. Nuri is a three-stage kerosene/LOX (kerolox) stack with a first stage of four clustered KARI-developed 75-tonne-class engines, a single 75-tonne-class engine on the second stage, and a 7-tonne-class engine on the third stage; total liftoff thrust is approximately 300 tonnes-force and the design payload capacity is approximately 1,500 kg to a 600-800 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) [3]. Nuri completed three launches across 2021-2023: flight 1 on October 21 2021 at 17:00 KST reached design altitude but the third-stage engine cut off 46 seconds early, preventing orbital insertion of a 1.5-tonne dummy payload (a partial success establishing the launcher mechanically); flight 2 on June 21 2022 was a full success, placing a 1.3-tonne dummy mass and a Performance Verification Satellite (PVSAT) into orbit; flight 3 on May 25 2023 was the first operational Nuri flight, placing the 180 kg NEXTSat-2 SAR satellite plus seven secondary CubeSats into a 550 km SSO [2][3][8]. Following flight 2 success, KARI awarded the Nuri commercialisation prime role to Hanwha Aerospace in December 2022 with a contract envelope covering Nuri flights 4-6 (planned 2025-2027) under a launcher-and-services structure that transfers KARI's manufacturing know-how to industry [5]. The next-generation KSLV-III is in advanced design under KARI and Hanwha Aerospace, targeting a first launch around 2030 with a payload capacity of approximately 10,000 kg to LEO (~3,700 kg to GTO) using a new ~100-tonne-class kerolox engine and reusable first-stage architecture; programme cost is reported at approximately 2 trillion KRW (~$1.5B) [3][9]. The Korean Lunar Lander, formally approved under the Korean Space Development Master Plan, is targeted for first launch in 2032 on a KSLV-III with a soft lander payload of approximately 1.8 tonnes and an in-situ resource utilisation payload package; precursor lunar science is provided by Danuri (KPLO) which has been in lunar orbit since December 2022 [9][12]. On the private side, Innospace (KOSDAQ: 462350) is developing the hybrid-engine HANBIT family of small launchers and conducted the HANBIT-TLV test flight from Alcântara, Brazil on March 19 2023 — the first commercial Korean launcher flight from a foreign launch site [10]. Naro Space Center on Goheung Island (Outer Naro Island) is the primary national launch site for Nuri flights, with a planned KSLV-III pad expansion under the Korean Space Development Master Plan [3][9].

KARI / KASA • 2022–2032

South Korea established KASA (Korea AeroSpace Administration) in May 2024 as a dedicated space agency. The Nuri rocket (KSLV-II) achieved operational success in May 2023. Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO/Danuri) has been orbiting the Moon since Dec 2022, mapping the surface with NASA's ShadowCam. Next-generation rocket (KSLV-III) in development.