The nominee for the inaugural chief of South Korea’s new space agency on Thursday vowed efforts to make the country a global space power by expanding the role of the private space industry.
“We need to raise companies that can play key roles in space development projects in order for the country to have a global-level space industry and ultimately space economy,” Yoon Young-bin, the nominee for the chief of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), told reporters in the first press conference held since his nomination last month.
Yoon, formerly an aerospace engineering professor of Seoul National University, is set to take the helm of KASA, scheduled to open its doors on May 27 in Sacheon, approximately 300 kilometers south of Seoul.
KASA, the Korean version of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will be in charge of leading the country’s space programs, as well as aeronautics and space research, including moon and Mars exploration projects.
“We have proven in 2022 th
at we can launch a homegrown satellite aboard a homegrown space rocket from a launch complex on our soil … but to move on to the next step, we need to study how to develop a large satellite and lower the cost of launching spacecrafts,” Yoon said.
“The global paradigm is shifting as leading companies have developed reusable space rockets while launching a group of small satellites that have similar performance to medium- and large-sized satellites,” he added.
John Lee, nominee for the deputy administrator of mission directorates at KASA, said he believes South Korea has enough “potential” to become a “world-class” nation in the space industry.
Lee, a retired senior executive from NASA, said he will work to transplant the U.S. space agency’s strengths to KASA in a Korean way.
“If we successfully define the requirements of the country’s space projects like NASA, KASA will be able to integrate various projects, while the industry, the government and academic institutions can conduct their work in a consiste
nt manner,” Lee said.
The former NASA executive also insisted that KASA should play a role in upgrading the overall level of the country’s space technologies, saying a tide raises all boats.
Source: Yonhap News Agency