Oh Tae-seok, administrator of the Korea Aerospace Administration, met with major U.S. space companies in the United States after the successful launch of South Korea’s Next-Generation Mid-Sized Satellite No. 2, seeking cooperation to strengthen the competitiveness of the country’s private space industry.
The agency said Tuesday that Oh on May 3 (local time) successfully completed his duties as head of the launch management team at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The satellite was launched at 4 p.m. Korea time aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and, about 60 minutes later, was placed into a 498-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. At 5:15 p.m. the same day, communications with the Svalbard ground station in Norway confirmed normal operation of the spacecraft and key systems. The agency described it as the first mid-sized satellite independently developed by a private company based on 500-kilogram-class standard platform technology, calling it a symbolic result showing a shift in space development from government-led to private-led efforts.
Oh continued what the agency described as on-site outreach the next day, May 4, visiting key space companies near California. He first went to Umbra Space to review the company’s development and use of synthetic aperture radar-based small satellites. With Umbra Space, which has been rapidly expanding commercial satellite data services for disaster response and security, he discussed cooperation on private-led small-satellite development and ways to use satellite data.
Oh then met with SpaceX officials and formally requested coordination on the schedule for Next-Generation Mid-Sized Satellite No. 4, which is set for launch in the second half of the year. The agency said the meeting focused on schedule management after a previous delay, when a planned joint launch of satellites No. 2 and No. 4 was changed to separate launches due to SpaceX circumstances. The sides also discussed launch plans for follow-on satellites the agency is pursuing, including GEO-KOMPSAT-3, and exchanged views on the global launch market and the direction of technological development.
“Building on the successful launch of the private-led Next-Generation Mid-Sized Satellite No. 2, Korea’s space industry also needs a rapid transition to a private-led approach,” Oh said. He said the agency would actively pursue expanded cooperation with major space powers and companies to strengthen the space-technology competitiveness of South Korean private firms.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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