Hanwha's 40 Years of Aerospace Expertise Drives Nuriho's Fourth Successful Launch

Hanwha Aerospace Leads System Integration
The Only Domestic Producer of Nuriho-Class Medium and Large Engines
Experience with 46 Engines Cuts Production Time in Half

The successful fourth launch of the Korean launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II) was the result of a combination of "technical perfection" and a "public-private partnership system." It is particularly significant in that it overcame three major challenges-weight, stability, and propulsion-by carrying a record 13 satellites weighing a total of 960 kg. During the third launch, Nuriho carried eight satellites with a total weight of 500 kg, meaning that this time, it stably launched a payload that was twice as heavy.

Nuriho 4th launch scene. Screenshot from Korea Aerospace Research Institute YouTube.

Hanwha Aerospace, which was responsible for system integration of Nuriho, played a major role in this success. In an interview with The Asia Business Daily on December 1, Oh Seungho, Head of the Launch Vehicle Research Center at Hanwha Aerospace's Space Division (Executive Director), said, "The most critical aspects of this launch were 'system integration' and 'final assembly.' Hanwha's aerospace quality system standards, accumulated over 40 years, are so rigorous that partner companies initially struggled, but after coordination, we established new quality standards. I believe this became a decisive factor in ensuring that no errors occurred with Nuriho."

Hanwha Aerospace employees focused intensively on "system integration," bringing together various components into a single system over the course of a year in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. Researchers from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) also worked on-site, transferring technology through guidance and seminars, enabling seamless public-private collaboration. Oh added, "With the reinforcement of our quality system, we can now proceed with the production of future launch vehicles according to consistent and reliable standards. We also systematically documented and managed our daily collaboration with KARI, building up a highly valuable data asset."

In addition to system integration, Hanwha Aerospace was responsible for the final assembly of all six engines installed in Nuriho. The first stage of Nuriho was equipped with four 75-ton class liquid engines, the second stage with one 75-ton class liquid engine, and the third stage with one 7-ton class liquid engine. At the KSLV assembly building in the Changwon 1 plant, which covers 1,800 square meters, Hanwha Aerospace has produced a total of 46 Nuriho engines (34 of the 75-ton class and 12 of the 7-ton class), including test models and the engines used in the third launch in May last year.

While some domestic space companies can manufacture small launch vehicle engines, Hanwha Aerospace is the only company capable of producing engines for medium- and large-scale launch vehicles like Nuriho. The Nuriho engines were developed by Hanwha Aerospace based on blueprints designed by KARI, with modifications made to various details throughout the process. As expertise and data accumulated, the production time for assembling an engine for the first Nuriho vehicle, which initially took about six months, has now been reduced by half to approximately three months.

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