Korean Air Begins Development of Methane Engine for Reusable Space Launch Vehicle

by Oh Hyungil

Published 03 Dec.2025 11:07(KST)

Consortium Formed with Hyundai Rotem

Korean Air is partnering with Hyundai Rotem to begin developing a methane-based space launch vehicle engine with a reusable design and 35-ton thrust capacity.

On December 3, at the KW Convention Center in Daejeon, Korean Air held a kick-off meeting for the “Development of a 35-ton-class Methane Engine for Reusable Launch Vehicles” project. The event was organized by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), the dedicated agency for defense planning and management, and led by the Korean Air-Hyundai Rotem consortium.

Ground-based reusable space launch vehicle launch operation. Korean Air

More than 70 participants attended the meeting, including representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, DTaQ, as well as technology partners such as Doosan Enerbility and Perigee Aerospace, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and professors from Seoul National University, Kookmin University, and Pusan National University, representing the domestic space industry’s government, academia, research, and military sectors.

This project will be carried out with a total budget of 49 billion won by October 2030. Methane engines are considered a core technology for the competitiveness of future launch vehicles, as they offer higher combustion efficiency and less residual byproducts than traditional kerosene-based engines, making them suitable for reuse. Companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin in the United States have also adopted methane engines as the next-generation standard.

In this project, Korean Air will lead the development of the “turbopump,” often called the heart of the methane engine system. The turbopump is a key component that compresses the liquid methane fuel and oxidizer at high pressure and high speed within the launch vehicle engine. It must withstand both cryogenic propellants at minus 180 degrees Celsius and hot gases at several hundred degrees, rotating tens of thousands of times per minute, making it a significant technical challenge.

Kim Kyungnam, Head of the Aerospace Technology Institute at Korean Air, stated, “We will leverage Korean Air’s accumulated technological expertise and capabilities to successfully develop a high-performance, highly reliable turbopump optimized for methane engines. Through this, we aim to proactively respond to the development of military satellite launch vehicles and future national defense needs, driving the growth of the domestic space industry ecosystem.”

Son Jaehong, Director of DTaQ, commented, “The development of methane engines will serve as a catalyst for establishing Korea as a powerhouse in the space defense industry. DTaQ will actively support the successful completion of methane engine development, which will become the heart of future space defense, by building an innovative research and development (R&D) system and a robust defense industry ecosystem.”