Nuri Rocket's Fifth Launch: A Private-Led Mission
The fifth launch of the Nuri rocket, the first to be operated directly by the private sector, has succeeded. It marked the first time Hanwha Aerospace took charge of launch preparations, inspections, and overall operations. According to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), the Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. on the 7th from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, placing five nano satellites known as the Neon satellites (Nos. 2 through 6) into their target orbits. First contact came 43 minutes after launch, at 1:08 p.m., when the King Sejong Station in Antarctica picked up the signal from satellite No. 6. By 5:52 p.m., contact had been confirmed with all five satellites, ending with No. 5. The satellites have since begun initial checkouts ahead of their full missions.
Of the 10 cube satellites carried along, one failed to separate because its ejection tube cover did not open. However, KASA judged the launch a success, distinguishing between the rocket's mission and the deployment of the piggyback satellites. Fourteen of the 15 satellites were deployed into space, raising the Nuri rocket's launch success rate from 75% to 80%.
For the sixth launch next year, Hanwha Aerospace is expected to take over most launch operations, with the exception of some roles such as the mission director (MD) and launch director (LD).
The defining feature of the fifth Nuri launch was the change in who ran the mission. Hanwha Aerospace, the new master of the control room, served as the primary operator for the first time, deploying 23 personnel, participating in the operation of 20 of the launch control center's 22 consoles, and directly operating 18 of them. Consoles are the core workstations where operators monitor the real-time status of each rocket system and enter commands according to launch procedures. During the fourth launch in November last year, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) operated the consoles directly, but this time KARI took on a management and oversight role. Park Jong-chan, head of KARI's Korean Launch Vehicle Advancement Program, had previously said, "From the fifth launch onward, Hanwha Aerospace will participate as the primary operator." Hanwha Aerospace staffing for launch operations and management also grew, from 32 during the fourth launch to 42 this time.
Hanwha Aerospace's role extends beyond launch operations. After being selected as the system integrator in 2022, it has overseen the production of components by partner companies, and it assembles and produces the Nuri rocket's 75-ton liquid engine and 7-ton engine at its Changwon facility in South Gyeongsang Province. Last year, it received technology transfers from KARI and secured a compulsory license allowing it to independently manufacture and launch the Nuri rocket through 2032.
A private-sector division of labor has also taken root in launch infrastructure. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries spent roughly four years and six months starting in 2016 building the Nuri rocket's second launch pad with its own technology, overseeing everything from design to manufacturing, installation, and operation. Hyundai Rotem built the propulsion system test facilities. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) handled the integrated final assembly of components supplied by more than 300 companies as well as the production of the first-stage launch vehicle.
The Nuri rocket advancement program concludes with the sixth launch next year. Reflecting on the previous two-and-a-half-year launch gap, Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, said after the fourth launch last year, "During the two years and six months following the third launch, it was difficult to sustain the industrial ecosystem." To prevent such gaps, the government included 75 billion won in next year's budget proposal to support the seventh and eighth Nuri launches. The government aims to establish a regular launch cadence of at least once a year and eventually increase it to two to three launches annually.
