Seoul, Jan 22, 2025, IANS

Seoul, Jan 22 (IANS) South Korean national space agency Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) on Wednesday said it will invest a combined 806.4 billion won ($562.5 million) in research and development (R&D) projects this year as part of efforts to turn the country into one of five global leaders in the aerospace sector. According to KASA, the agency's R&D budget for 2025 marks a 43.3 per cent increase from that of last year, Yonhap news agency reported. In detail, some 187.4 billion won will be funnelled into R&D projects by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Another 147.8 billion won will be injected into advancing South Korea's space rocket technologies, while 150.8 billion won will be used for developing a next-generation space rocket and 500 million won for the development of reusable rocket technologies. KASA aims to develop a reusable rocket that would only cost US$1,000 to transport 1 kilogram of cargo to space by mid-2030. It will also launch research programs to develop an orbital transfer vehicle, manned spacecraft, and space reentry technology. The national space agency will also invest 24.9 billion won in developing a microsatellite swarm, and 35 billion won for a geostationary orbit communications satellite. The plans also include a next-generation midsized satellite for space science research this year, along with a multipurpose satellite for observation of the Korean Peninsula, it said. It will also work to develop more advanced satellite technologies, such as a low Earth orbit satellite communications system and the Korea Positioning System, which is a local satellite navigation system. In addition, KASA plans to invest 7.3 billion won in a joint project with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch a Lunar Space Environment Monitor, and 45 billion won for its independent lunar spacecraft development project.