'Space Internet' Proves Its Worth in Ukraine War... When Will Korea Catch Up? [Reading Science]

Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX are loaded on the Falcon 9 rocket just before reaching orbit. Archive photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] #One spring day in 202* year, a long-range artillery shell fired by North Korea landed on a KT communication facility in the heart of Seoul. This was only the beginning. Immediately, thousands of shells exploded across Seoul’s entire communication network and other key facilities, paralyzing all communications in South Korea, including the internet. People could not get any news, so they could neither evacuate nor do anything but tremble in fear in nearby bomb shelters.

Although this is a hypothetical scenario, the possibility of communication paralysis on the Korean Peninsula in an emergency is high. The potential of 'space internet' revealed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine offers many clues for us. Even if terrestrial internet networks are destroyed or malfunction, high-speed internet service can be provided via satellites in space without any interference. In Ukraine, most terrestrial internet networks have been paralyzed due to Russia’s long-standing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattacks and facility destruction. However, Ukrainian civilians logged into smartphones and social media through satellite internet are informing the world about their damage situation and Russian troop advances. Fierce 'psychological warfare' involving propaganda and 'fake news' is also ongoing between the Ukrainian and Russian governments.

◇ Anywhere in the world

People in South Korea, where ultra-high-speed internet networks are densely installed, do not fully realize this. Two-thirds of the world’s regions are still internet blind spots. This includes the jungles of Africa and South America, remote islands in the vast ocean, mountainous areas thousands of meters high, sun-scorched deserts, and snow-covered polar regions. Even the United States, the world’s strongest power, has many internet dead zones in sparsely populated suburban areas. The dream of enabling internet access anytime and anywhere regardless of geographic location, environment, or climate led to the start of space internet services. Initially, global internet companies like Google and Facebook led the effort. Facebook, from 2015, pursued the ambitious 'Aquila' project to deploy large drones the size of a Boeing 767 in the stratosphere to serve as mobile base stations and provide free internet to remote areas worldwide. However, this was temporarily suspended due to technical limitations. Google is also pushing projects like the large balloon (Loon project) or solar-powered drones stationed long-term in the stratosphere like Facebook, but progress has been slow.

◇ Small satellites are the trend

Instead, space development companies are actively promoting space internet businesses using small satellites. Satellite space internet has no obstacles and can be used in any climate or terrain environment. It also offers transmission speeds over 1 gigabit per second, more than 200 times faster than terrestrial networks. Another advantage is strict security, allowing safer information transmission free from hacking compared to ground networks. As seen in Ukraine’s case, it can serve as an alternative means in emergencies when terrestrial networks are paralyzed.

Above all, it became possible due to the significant reduction in satellite manufacturing and launch costs. Until the 2000s, satellite launch costs were about $20,000 per kilogram, but private space companies developing reusable launch vehicles have drastically lowered costs to around $2,000 per kilogram recently. Launch costs are expected to drop further to about $1,400 per kilogram. Leading this is Elon Musk’s SpaceX with its 'Starlink' service. Since 2019, over 1,000 satellites have been launched, and beta services have been opened since 2020 starting in the U.S. and Canada, recently expanding to Germany, New Zealand, Australia, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and others. Initially, Ukraine was not included in the service area, but Musk activated the service on the 27th of last month at the request of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, announcing plans to supply more connections. Emergency service was also provided when the Tonga underwater volcano erupted massively in January, paralyzing local communication networks. Users can access the service by paying $99 and receiving a small satellite antenna. SpaceX plans to increase the number of satellites to over 12,000 to provide global service.

Other companies are also entering the market. South Korea’s Hanwha Group invested $300 million in the UK’s OneWeb, which launched about 250 satellites by the end of last year and started pilot services in Alaska, Canada, and other areas. This year, they plan to launch a total of about 600 satellites into orbit and open global services. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and a rival to Musk, established the space internet service company Kuiper and is challenging the market. Canadian telecom company Telesat announced plans to build a space internet network called 'Lightspeed.' Recently, Boeing, famous for aircraft manufacturing, received approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its space internet construction plan. Even Apple is reportedly secretly researching satellite communication service construction.

China announced plans in 2020 to launch 13,000 low-earth orbit constellation satellites to build space internet, and the European Union (EU) plans to establish a low-earth orbit internet satellite communication network by 2027. Currently, the total number of space internet satellites being promoted or planned worldwide reaches 70,000. The market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 20% until 2031, reaching $52.33 billion (about 62 trillion KRW) by then.

A space internet relay developed by the Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. It will be mounted on the Korean lunar exploration orbiter (KPLO) and launched for testing in August.

◇ South Korea also jumps in.

South Korea is still at the basic foundational technology research stage. The first step will be taken by the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), scheduled for launch this August. KPLO will carry a space internet (DTN, Disruption Tolerant Network) verifier developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute of Korea. Its main purpose is to verify space internet communication technology between Earth and the lunar orbiter and to test message and file transmission as well as real-time video transmission.

The government also announced plans last June to build a satellite communication pilot service. By 2031, it plans to launch 14 ultra-small communication satellites to establish a low-earth orbit communication satellite pilot network for 6G satellite communication. Specifically, the plan is to launch 1 satellite by 2025, 3 by 2027, 3 by 2029, and 7 by 2031. In addition, projects such as 'Space Innovation,' which supports the entire satellite development cycle for ultra-small satellite companies, and training of space industry professionals are being promoted.

Voices are emerging that South Korea, which has built one of the world’s best terrestrial internet networks, must actively engage in building space internet networks to maintain its status as an IT powerhouse. South Korea has been a global leader in terrestrial communication technology, starting with TDX (telephone exchange) self-reliance, introducing the 2G CDMA system in 1996, and commercializing 5G worldwide first in 2019. However, in the upcoming ultra-high-speed, low-latency 6G era, satellite communication networks will be essential.

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