If Hanwha Wants to Catch Up with 'SpaceX' [Reading Science]

Musk Warns of 'Bankruptcy' but Keeps Investing
NASA Also Provides Technical, Personnel, and Financial Support
Management Vision and National System Needed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "Hanwha is poised to become the Korean version of ‘SpaceX’."

This headline appeared in media reports after the government selected Hanwha Aerospace on the 7th as the ‘Korean Launch Vehicle System Comprehensive Company’ responsible for the technology transfer and commercialization of Nuriho. The expression is understandable given that SpaceX rose to become the strongest private space developer through technology transfers from NASA. However, the situations are quite different. While SpaceX is the heir of a large conglomerate dominating the business world, Hanwha is like the eldest son of a poor farmer who owns nothing but a single cow (Nuriho).

Let’s look at how SpaceX was able to grow so rapidly. Elon Musk, who claims that ‘terraforming Mars’ is the sole reason he makes money, poured all his wealth earned from selling the electric car company Tesla into focused investments. So much so that in December last year, he sent a ‘bankruptcy warning’ email to all employees. When the development of the Starship engine, a super-large launch vehicle for Mars exploration, was delayed, Musk warned all employees via email that "if we do not achieve a Starship flight every two weeks by next year, we will face a real risk of bankruptcy." Musk also pushed for the rapid development of high-risk technologies through risk-taking that public space agencies like NASA could not imagine. The idea was to launch rockets even if they exploded and incurred losses, then use the experience and data to leap further. This is the decisive reason why SpaceX, established only 20 years ago, has surpassed NASA, a public institution with decades of know-how and experts. Of course, the quality of national support and the underlying level are also on a different scale. NASA, the world’s strongest space development organization, supported technology, personnel, and finances accumulated over 70 years. High social interest in space and advanced science and technology levels also provided a solid foundation.

What about Hanwha? Except for receiving launch vehicle technology transfer from the government, it cannot be compared to SpaceX. The technology gap is huge. If SpaceX’s Falcon 9 or Starship is like a Ferrari speeding on a highway, Nuriho is about the level of a Pony. In August, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) reported that the commercialization of reusable launch vehicles is expected after 2040. The government’s support and a national-level long-term vision and system for space development projects are not properly established. Apart from four additional Nuriho launches and upgrades (next-generation launch vehicle development), nothing has been clearly decided. Although it is called the ‘New Space era’ on the surface, it is obvious that the entire space development industry will continue to rely on government budgets in a ‘government-led era’ for the time being. The underlying environment is also poor. Political instability is severe, and the talent pool, science and technology level, public interest, and national economic scale lag far behind not only the U.S. but also established space powers such as Europe, China, Japan, and India. There is only one area where there is room for autonomy: whether Hanwha’s management can follow Musk’s ‘mad’ investment and risk management.

This may sound too realistic and like pouring cold water. However, it can provide an ‘answer’ to what Hanwha truly needs to grow like SpaceX. With the establishment of a specialized space development agency (Aerospace Administration) promised by President Yoon Suk-yeol, the national space development system and long-term plans must be refined and concretized. Social consensus is also essential in this process. Through this, having already developed a Korean launch vehicle, there should be a vision to catch up with SpaceX in the commercial space launch vehicle market in the shortest possible time without looking back. A determination to create a K-wave in space development is necessary. Hanwha must also provide an answer. It should be a response to the public’s question of whether it can catch up with SpaceX when it couldn’t even make it to the ‘autumn baseball’ (playoffs).

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