[Focus] Korea opens space era

Korea will be able to open an era of space development for itself as it has selected the location of its first space center to be built by 2005.

Since 1992, Korea has launched a total of seven satellites into orbit such as Uribyol 1-3 for scientific experiments, Mugunghwa 1-3 for communications and Arirang 1 for observation.

Yet every satellite was launched from rockets made by the United States, European countries or India. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute succeeded in launching a first-phase scientific rocket in 1993 and a second-phased one in 1998, but it used a missile launch pad built in South Chungchong Province because there was no launching facility for peaceful purposes.

However, the finalized plan to build the space center has provided a stable stepping stone on which the nation can develop with its own technologies and test-fire projectiles for the peaceful purpose of space development.

At present, only 13 countries have their own technologies to launch rockets. They are the United States, Russia, France, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Australia, Israel, Pakistan, Canada and North Korea.

The development of rockets to boost satellites is more difficult than that of the satellites themselves. Not to mention the difficult technologies, the project to develop them is checked by powerful countries because rocket manufacturing requires core military technologies.

Korea¡¯s rocket technology development has been sluggish because of the check by the United States so far. However, the restrictions on rocket development for private uses were lifted by an agreement between the two countries on missile range, and the construction of the space center became possible.

The government plans to invest 5.16 trillion won by 2015 in accordance with the basic plan on the mid- and long-term space development, and to join the world¡¯s top 10 in the space industry by launching a total of 20 satellites.

According to the plan, the first to be shot up in the center will be a small, low-orbit satellite for scientific research. In 2015, the government will be able to develop rockets that can send 1.5-ton geostationary satellites such as the Mugunghwa Satellite into orbit.

The Ministry of Science and Technology estimates that if nine small, low-orbit satellites are launched at the projected space center by 2015, the nation will be able to save US$85 million (about 102 billion won) required for launching them abroad.

The planned space center on Oenarodo, Kohung-gun, South Cholla Province, will launch only low-orbit satellites for observation and scientific research, not missiles for military use.

Low-orbit satellites usually orbit Earth periodically hundreds of kilometers above the ground and are used for the ground observation.

However, satellites such as Mugunghwa for broadcasting and communication must be launched to an orbit 30,000 kilometers above the equator. So it is much more advantageous to launch such satellites at pads near the equator.

Shin Dong-Ho dongho@donga.com