"Looking for Suppliers for Nuri-11... Introducing 'Contract' Method in Space Development"

Government to Hold Cabinet Meeting on 28th, Approves Related Law Amendments; Expected Parliamentary Approval and Implementation Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] In South Korea, just as NASA outsources the development of lunar landers to SpaceX, the government will be able to contract private companies to undertake parts of space development projects in the form of contract-based projects. Currently, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, a government agency, conducts preliminary feasibility studies and implements projects as government research and development (R&D) initiatives with partial participation from private companies. However, going forward, it will be possible to entrust entire projects and receive deliverables in a contract format.

The government has established institutional foundations such as the creation of public-private cooperative space industry complexes and the expansion of access to infrastructure to fully open the Newspace era.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 28th, the government approved the amendment to the Space Development Promotion Act (government proposal) at the Cabinet meeting to systematically foster the space industry. This amendment will be submitted through the Legislation Office within this year, undergo parliamentary approval procedures, and then be implemented.

The main content is to establish institutional foundations such as the creation of space industry cooperation complexes (clusters) and the expansion of access to space development infrastructure so that companies can freely enter space development. Until now, space development projects have been promoted only as government R&D projects, but the amendment introduces a contract method and provides grounds to relax the penalty limits for delays in contract fulfillment to the level of the defense industry (10% of the contract amount).

Technologies developed for the first time domestically will be designated as new space technologies, and products applying these new technologies will be given priority use. The amendment also includes provisions to promote technology transfer of research outcomes, support startups in the space sector, and foster human resources.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated that it is operating a space sector response organization (space sector TF) within the ministry to faithfully implement the support systems included in the amendment and to strengthen policy functions in the space industry and exploration fields.

Although tasks have surged, including the Nuri rocket launch, the Korean Positioning System (KPS) project, the lunar orbiter launch next year, and the lunar lander launch by 2030, as well as collaboration with the private sector, the responsible department consists of only two divisions under the Director of Large Public Research Policy (Large Public Research Policy Division and Space Technology Division).

Considering that securing new organizations and personnel takes a long time, the Ministry of Science and ICT first formed the space sector TF with two teams?‘Newspace Response Team’ (5 members) and ‘KPS Development Project Team’ (3 members)?by adjusting existing personnel’s duties. The Newspace Response Team is responsible for establishing the foundation such as space industry cooperation complexes (clusters), promoting commercialization support and investment environment improvements, and pre-planning new space exploration projects such as the lunar lander and the Apophis asteroid probe.

The KPS Development Project Team is preparing for the 2022 launch of the Korean Positioning System (KPS) development project, the largest space development project ever at 3.7 trillion won, which is expected to contribute to revitalizing the space industry. It will also concurrently handle the drafting of the new “National Integrated Navigation System Development and Operation Act” (tentative name), the formation and operation of the “KPS Utilization Committee” (tentative name) to reflect demands from satellite navigation industry utilization, and bilateral and multilateral international cooperation in the satellite navigation field.

Ko Seo-gon, Director of the R&D Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “The amendment to the Space Development Promotion Act approved at the Cabinet meeting this time will lay the foundation for the space industry to take a leap forward.” He added, “In line with the legal amendment, we will actively promote new projects related to the space industry and space exploration through the newly established space sector TF, and based on this, we will continuously foster future growth engines in the space sector.”

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