Russia sanctions force Korea to rely more on SpaceX

來源: 開云體育app官方網站 時間: 2023-01-26 04:00:15

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses as he arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Awards ceremony in Berlin in this December 2020 file photo. AFP-Yonhap

Homegrown rocket mired in conflict

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korea's upcoming space missions are expected to depend more on Elon Musk's SpaceX over the next few years, instead of Russia's Soyuz rockets, due to international economic sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine, according to aerospace experts.

The likelihood of Korea's increased reliance on the American company has grown, since the U.K.'s OneWeb joined hands with SpaceX in March, following Russia's refusal to launch the British firm's satellite.

OneWeb had initially planned to use the Soyuz rocket to launch 36 satellites into space on March 4 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

However, Russia's state-run Roscosmos, which operates the Soyuz rockets, abruptly cancelled the launch, citing the U.K. government's refusal to accept its request to sell the entire stake in OneWeb and guarantee that the company's satellites would not be used for military purposes.

At that time, the Russian space agency also removed the flags of Korea, the U.S., the U.K., Japan and France from its rocket that was supposed to carry OneWeb's satellites, while retaining the Indian flag.

Among the six countries whose governments or companies own OneWeb shares, India is the only one that has not joined international sanctions against Russia.

Roscosmos' action prompted the Ministry of Science and ICT to accelerate efforts to look for alternative vehicles for its space projects, in order to brace for a worsening diplomatic relationship with Russia, which has been the most important partner for Korea's space exploration since its early stage.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, the ministry signed contracts with Russia to launch the Korean Multi-purpose Satellite 6, or Arirang 6, using the Angara rocket and the next-generation, mid-size Satellite No. 2 via Soyuz by the end of this year.

"The Russo-Ukrainian crisis will have a direct impact on Korea's aerospace sector," the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning said in a recent report. "Russia's stance on the U.S. and the Western countries tightening sanctions seems to be a variable."

The European Space Agency's Ariane rocket is also viewed as an alternative to Soyuz.

Most domestic aerospace experts, however, expect the government to opt for American rockets over European ones, considering its recent partnership with SpaceX and a security alliance between Korea and the U.S. that dates back seven decades.

"It is inevitable for Korea to rely more on SpaceX for most of the country's space missions," said Lee Chang-jin, a professor at Konkuk University's Department of Aerospace Engineering. "It seems that Korea will not be able to use Russian rockets over the next couple of years."

SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicles have already been slated for use by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to launch the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) this year and the Korean military to launch its homegrown spy satellite in late 2023.

According to KARI, the lunar orbiter will be moved to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida next month to be launched by Falcon 9 on July 31 (local time) according to the institute's contract with SpaceX in 2017.

After entering the moon's orbit next January, KPLO will conduct various scientific experiments for a year, including transmitting BTS' song "Dynamite" to Earth.

The Korean military signed a contract with SpaceX last year to launch five reconnaissance satellites sequentially by the end of 2025 with the aim of monitoring North Korea's missile and nuclear test sites.

In July 2020, the Korean military's first communication satellite named Anasis-II was launched by Falcon 9.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Korea's Anasis-II communication satellite lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in this July 2020 file photo. AP-Yonhap

Bumpy road ahead

Based on the expectation that a heavier reliance on SpaceX will increase costs for Korea's space exploration program, domestic experts have called for the speedy development of a homegrown rocket.

"Soyuz has been more affordable, as Russia is one of the powerhouses in space exploration and the country has cooperated frequently with Korea," said Korean Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences Chairman Kim Chong-am, who is also a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Lee at Konkuk University warned that Korea will face setbacks in launching its satellites at the right moment, as more countries will want to use SpaceX's rockets instead of Russian ones.

SpaceX's rockets are said to be completely booked over the next 18 months.

However, uncertainties have grown recently over Korea's domestic development of a space rocket as government-run institutions began showing signs of conflict over control over the nation's space program.

After the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) test-fired a solid-fuel space rocket on March 30, former KARI President Cho Gwang-rae described the launch as a "disaster" that would be unprecedented in "normal countries."

"Most countries assign the development of launch vehicles to civilians, in order to avoid suspicions about the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)," Cho wrote on Facebook. "Now we have nothing to say, even if the whole world views our country's development of launch vehicles as an attempt to develop an ICBM."

KARI, which is under supervision of the science ministry, has sought to develop a liquid-propelled KSLV-2, or Nuri, unlike ADD which is focusing on solid-fuel rockets.

DAPA Minister Kang Eun-ho, on the other hand, refuted the claim that the military should stay away from the rocket development project, saying in a recent column that the military's investment is necessary to nurture the space industry.

The two institutions' apparent attempts to prevent the other from possessing space technologies drew criticism for stymieing the growth of Korea's private space industry.

"The conflict proved the necessity of a new space agency," Lee at Konkuk University said.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to establish a single organization serving as a "control tower" overseeing space policies, but its establishment has been delayed amid intensifying conflict between local governments over the location of the Korean version of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).