The South Korean government is launching the development of the next-generation geostationary environmental and marine satellite, Cheollian Satellite 6, with a total investment of 769.4 billion won, aiming for a launch in 2033.
The Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced on November 12 that they will jointly hold a briefing on the Cheollian Satellite 6 development project on November 13 at the K-W Convention Center in Daejeon, targeting stakeholders from academia, industry, and related organizations.
The Cheollian Satellite 6 development project passed a preliminary feasibility study for national research and development projects in August. The briefing will share detailed development plans and discuss ways to expand participation from domestic industries, academia, and research institutions.
The existing Cheollian Satellite 2B, launched on February 19, 2020, has been tasked with observing the movement of air pollutants and changes in the marine environment in the Korean Peninsula and East Asia.
The Ministry of Environment plans to enhance the spatial resolution of environmental payloads and double the observation wavelengths to accurately monitor air pollutants such as fine dust and ground-level ozone.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will increase the number of observation channels for marine payloads from 12 to 16, which will be used for coastal marine environment monitoring and responding to marine disasters. Additionally, five new polarization channels will be added to improve observation accuracy by measuring the direction of light vibrations.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute will develop a satellite platform capable of simultaneous observation of environmental and marine payloads. The project will also focus on domestic development of a hybrid propulsion system that combines chemical and electric propulsion, aiming to localize key technologies and strengthen private sector capabilities in satellite development.
The three ministries plan to gather feedback from stakeholders during the briefing and discuss cooperation measures to expand private sector participation. The collected opinions will be reflected in the future project implementation process.
Sung Ji-won, head of the Air Environment Research Division at the National Institute of Environmental Research, stated, "Cheollian Satellite 6 will provide more precise and accurate observations of air pollutants, including ozone, as well as climate change-inducing substances, contributing to the establishment of scientific environmental policies and providing environmental information services that the public can feel."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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