If Nuriho Succeeds, Military Reconnaissance Satellites Also Look Promising

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] If the Korean liquid-fueled launch vehicle 'Nuriho 2' is successfully launched on the 21st, our military will soon proceed with a test launch of a solid-fueled space launch vehicle. This means achieving the "three rabbits" of reconnaissance satellites, missile technology, and space exploration.

Our military began developing solid-fueled propulsion launch vehicles after the Korea-US missile guidelines were lifted in May last year. In July of the same year, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) succeeded in combustion testing of a solid-fueled engine for space launch vehicles. Through this test launch, verification was conducted on engine combustion, fairing separation, stage separation, and upper-stage attitude control technology. A significant portion of the core technology for solid-fueled space launch vehicles has thus been verified.

The military is planning Project 425 using solid-fueled space launch vehicles. Using solid-fueled satellite launch vehicles, they plan to launch one optical reconnaissance satellite and four microscale Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) reconnaissance satellites in 2025.

Additionally, our military plans to launch 32 more microscale reconnaissance satellites. North Korea's liquid-fueled ballistic missiles have a launch preparation time of less than one hour, while solid-fueled ballistic missiles require only 20 to 30 minutes. Since Project 425 allows reconnaissance of North Korea at two-hour intervals with launched reconnaissance satellites alone, launching microscale reconnaissance satellites to perform missions simultaneously can enable dense reconnaissance of North Korean territory at 10 to 20-minute intervals. Strengthening our military's reconnaissance capabilities is expected to aid the transfer of wartime operational control, as it is a key aspect of the operational control transition process.

The microscale reconnaissance satellites disclosed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) measure 3 meters in width and 70 cm in height. They have a resolution of about 1 meter and weigh only 66 kg. However, they can observe objects on the ground as small as 1 meter with high resolution from an altitude of 510 km orbit regardless of day or night and adverse weather conditions. Their lifespan is 2 to 3 years.

However, there are still many challenges to overcome in introducing our microscale reconnaissance satellites. The microscale reconnaissance satellites revealed by ADD last year must pass verification processes before mass production and deployment. Afterwards, they must also secure price competitiveness in the international market. Companies such as the US's Capella and Finland's Iceye have already launched microscale SAR satellites with resolutions of 50 cm to 1 meter and sell commercial imagery. Japan is also launching microscale SAR satellites led by the private sector. To achieve price competitiveness, it is pointed out that launch vehicle costs must be reduced through material cost savings and other measures.

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