South Korea to launch LEO system
June 21, 2021
By Chris Forrester
South Korea is to build and launch more than 100 low Earth orbiting satellites for a national security system and to test and help develop ‘next-generation’ communications.
The country’s Ministry of Science and ICT (information & Communication Technology) said it would pursue such satellite development to encourage the private sector’s involvement in the space industry as the mini-satellites can be manufactured in a short amount of time at a relatively low cost.
The Yonhap news agency reports that the intention is to see an initial 14 satellites launched over the next decade to help serve 6G technology but with an additional 22 craft focusing on radio wave technology in space and a further 13 satellites designed to acquire what it describes as “future technologies”.
The nation’s Samsung technology giant has looked in the past at launching a global fleet of 4600 low Earth orbiting communications satellites but the project seems not to have been pursued. However, the initial plan called for the constellation to be operational by 2028.