At 1:13 a.m. on the 27th, the Nuri rocket ascended from the second launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, designed and constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. With the launch signal, four 75-ton liquid engines assembled by Hanwha Aerospace simultaneously emitted flames, propelling the 47.2-meter-high launch vehicle into space.

Approximately 13 minutes after liftoff, at 1:26 a.m., the Nuri rocket reached an altitude of 601 km, where the next-generation medium-sized satellite No. 3, independently developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), was smoothly deployed. Subsequently, 12 additional payload satellites (CubeSats) with different missions were sequentially separated. The satellites are equipped with cameras made by LG Innotek to capture images of space.

From the launch pad to the engines, and the cameras observing space and the satellites onboard, the moment marked the completion of Nuri's mission, led by the private sector rather than the government. This launch is the first instance where the entire project was overseen by a private company, Hanwha Aerospace, instead of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Over 300 private companies participated, from manufacturing the launch vehicle to developing satellites and operating the launch pad, opening the door to space with purely private technology. It is evaluated that South Korea's space industry has entered the 'New Space' era, transitioning from government-led to private-led initiatives.

● Hanwha Aero coordinates the launch process with 300 companies

The company that took the lead as the general director of this launch is Hanwha Aerospace. After being selected as the system integrator for the Nuri rocket advancement project in December 2022, it coordinated over 300 participating companies, taking responsibility for the entire process from manufacturing the launch vehicle to the launch. By assembling all six engines (five 75-ton engines and one 7-ton engine) used in stages 1 to 3 and conducting launch operations, it demonstrated its capabilities as the 'Korean version of SpaceX.'

The liquid rocket engine of the Nuri is a high-precision device that withstands extreme environments, from liquid oxygen at minus 183 degrees to a combustion chamber at 3000 degrees. Each 75-ton engine contains 2,400 parts and undergoes 458 processes. Hanwha Aerospace accumulated know-how by producing a total of 46 units, including test models, at its Changwon 1 plant, achieving a reduction in production time from six months to three months.

Oh Seung-ho, head of the Launch Vehicle Research Center at Hanwha Aerospace, stated, “It was not easy for a private company to manufacture and manage the quality of a massive 300-ton thrust launch vehicle,” adding, “Despite initial trial and error, we established a quality system by residing in Goheung for a year.”

● KAI and HD Hyundai responsible for satellite and launch pad production

Korea Aerospace Industries developed the main payload satellite for this launch, the next-generation medium-sized satellite No. 3. It is the first medium-sized satellite made under the leadership of a domestic private company, applying the '500 kg-class standard platform technology' to standardize the satellite body, reducing development costs and time.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was responsible for the launch pad, the platform from which the Nuri rocket heads to space. Completing the second launch pad in 2020, it achieved a 100% localization rate by designing all areas of the launch pad system with independent technology. In this fourth launch, it supported the success by operating ground mechanical facilities and propellant supply facilities.

LG Innotek's camera module was mounted on the CubeSats, small artificial satellites. This was to verify whether LG Innotek's camera module operates well in the space environment. The camera module mounted on the CubeSats is tasked with taking space photos and sending them back to Earth once the CubeSats separate from the Nuri rocket after reaching a certain orbit.

Experts evaluate this successful launch as an opportunity to expand the private sector in the space industry, while emphasizing the need for role-sharing, where the public sector handles the development of high-risk core technologies and the private sector handles commercialization. An Jae-myung, a professor of aerospace engineering at KAIST, said, “The technology to make satellites is now established,” adding, “We must move forward to a stage where those satellites perform unique and meaningful missions.”

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