Hanwha Aero to Manufacture the 'Brain' Following the 'Heart' of Launch Vehicles

Space Pioneer Project
Participation in Government Project for Integrated Launch Vehicle Avionics Development

Hanwha Aerospace participates in the development of 'Avionics,' known as the 'brain' of launch vehicles. A photo of officials attending the project kickoff meeting held on the 27th at Hanwha Aero Asan Plant. (Photo by Hanwha Aero)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Co., Ltd. are participating in the government-led 'Low-cost, Lightweight Launch Vehicle Avionics Integrated Technology Development' project.

Hanwha Group announced on the 28th that Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Co., Ltd. will jointly participate in the 'Space Pioneer Project' led by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The project involves an investment of 211.5 billion KRW by the Ministry of Science and ICT by 2030 to develop 16 core space technologies through an industry-led industry-academia-research consortium. It is an ambitious project aimed at achieving self-reliance in South Korea's space strategy technology. The low-cost, lightweight launch vehicle avionics integrated technology development project is one of them. Avionics refers to the electronic equipment and systems operated in aircraft and spacecraft. It controls the overall movement of the launch vehicle and the operation of each component, as well as managing communication and navigation systems. It is essentially the 'brain of the launch vehicle' and can be considered the core system for launch vehicle mission control.

An industry-academia-research consortium consisting of Hanwha Aerospace, Danam Systems, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Korea Aerospace University, and others is responsible for the technology development and implementation. They plan to integrate technologies such as navigation, control, stage separation, flight data acquisition, and transmission into a single platform to reduce weight and apply commercial components, aiming to develop a next-generation avionics system with price competitiveness by 2028. Researchers from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Space Pioneer Project Group, Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Co., Ltd., and eight other participating institutions held a project kickoff meeting on the 27th at Hanwha Aerospace's Asan plant. They discussed the development direction, scope of business cooperation, and other opinions to officially start the development.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to actively participate in the liquid small launch vehicle, Nuri rocket advancement project, and next-generation space launch vehicle projects based on the technologies secured through this project, its existing strengths in engine manufacturing technology, and space launch vehicle-related technologies acquired during the Nuri rocket development process. Hanwha Co., Ltd. also intends to apply the project's outcomes to solid space launch vehicles to secure competitiveness.

Hanwha Aerospace is the company that manufactures the engine known as the 'heart' of the Korean space launch vehicle Nuri. Earlier this year, it successfully completed the system concept design for a future small launch vehicle in collaboration with the Future Launch Vehicle Research Group under the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. On the 8th, Yong Hongtaek, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, visited the development site. At this event, Shin Hyunwoo, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, stated, "Based on our experience participating in various space-related projects including Nuri, we will do our best to successfully carry out the integrated avionics development together with the Ministry of Science and ICT and consortium members."

Hanwha Group launched Space Hub in March last year. Based on Hanwha Aerospace's Nuri liquid launch vehicle technology, Hanwha Co., Ltd.'s solid launch vehicle technology, and satellite technologies from Hanwha Systems and Satrec Initiative, the group is emerging as a leading company in South Korea's space ecosystem aligned with government policies for the 'New Space era.'

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