Countdown to Kim Dong-kwan's Space Vision

Leading the Frontier of the Space Industry
Hanwha Affiliates Unite Technologies
Launch of the 'Space Hub'
Hanwha Aerospace and Others
Participated in the Entire Nuriho Development Process
Era of Private-Led Space Age Arrives
Growth to $11 Billion by 2040

The Space Hub Hall set up at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2021), which runs until the 23rd. Major affiliates of Hanwha Group, including Hanwha Corporation, jointly organized the exhibition hall featuring launch vehicles (from the left in the photo), satellite propulsion systems, a 75-ton liquid rocket engine, and optical satellites.

Nuriho Rocket Sets Off to Space Today Equipped with Hanwha’s Space Technology-Integrated 'Engine'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] "Space industry is something someone has to do. We will proceed with development with a sense of social responsibility."

Kim Dong-kwan, CEO of Hanwha Solutions (also President of Hanwha Corporation’s Strategic Division), said this during the launch of the ‘Space Hub’ last March. The Space Hub is a consultative body formed mainly by engineers and researchers from Hanwha Group’s affiliates engaged in the space industry, with Hanwha Group’s core businesses in defense industries such as machinery and chemicals.

Just as it is important to comprehensively integrate numerous engineering technologies to launch a single rocket, CEO Kim created a platform where dispersed personnel within the group could come together to generate synergy in the space business. On the afternoon of the 21st, major affiliates of Hanwha Group, the main force behind the Space Hub, participated throughout the development process, including the final assembly of the engine?the ‘heart’ of the Nuriho rocket heading to space?as well as the structure, thruster system, mission control, and test facilities.

The space-related industry has already shifted development leadership to the private sector, mainly in advanced countries, and it is widely expected that the market size will grow significantly in the near future. Last month, Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history by sending private citizens on a three-day trip to space. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, with Blue Origin, and British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic also conducted space tourism flights crossing the boundary of space with professional astronauts. Communication satellites, which overcome geographical and physical limitations, are already being launched worldwide, and observation satellites, once used for military purposes, now serve diverse uses such as resource exploration, environmental monitoring, and map-making.

Kim Dong-kwan, CEO of Hanwha Solutions

According to Morgan Stanley and others, the global private space industry, valued at about $385 billion last year, is expected to grow to $1.1 trillion by 2040. The satellite industry, which has seen increased utilization, has grown 1.6 times over the past decade. The aerospace sector’s value-added rate is 48%, about 50-70% higher compared to traditional manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding and automobiles.

The sector has a high proportion of advanced jobs such as research and development, and the long development periods also have a positive effect on job creation. When Musk first revealed his space exploration vision and founded SpaceX in the early 2000s, it started in a warehouse in a coastal city in California, but after more than 20 years, it has become a giant company with about 9,500 employees. On Wall Street, there is a growing number of people who expect SpaceX to become more valuable than Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company. The blueprint that CEO Kim is leading with the Space Hub is similar to this.

Hanwha Group has long-standing experience in aerospace engines and defense industries, providing favorable conditions to stand out in the space industry in the future. Nevertheless, considering the nature of the space industry, where short-term results are difficult to achieve, bold investment is not easy in reality. As Kim, the likely next head of the group following Chairman Kim Seung-yeon, personally takes the helm of the space business, it is expected that rather than focusing on immediate profits, investments will be made generously to lay the foundation and improve the research and development (R&D) environment for long-term growth of the space business.

CEO Kim serves as a registered executive of Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Group’s main space business affiliate, and works as an unpaid director at Satrec Initiative, a satellite service specialist company acquired earlier this year. Hanwha Systems invested $300 million in OneWeb, a UK company that launched the world’s first satellite for space internet, and became a board member. A Hanwha official said, "SpaceX invested 500 billion KRW to develop the Falcon 9 launch vehicle," adding, "We believe that to secure global competitiveness in a short period with our current technology, even more investment than this will be necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.