Nuri (KSLV-Ⅱ), a Korean launch vehicle developed with indigenous technology, lifts off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung-gun, South Jeolla Province, on the afternoon of May 25, 2023. (Image courtesy of Korea Aerospace Research Institute)
SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government said Thursday it will begin a public tendering process to select a company to lead the country’s space project worth 2.01 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) to develop a next-generation space vehicle.
Under the project, South Korea aims to develop a vehicle with enhanced transportation capacity compared with the country’s 200-ton space rocket Nuri, or KSLV-Ⅱ, which has completed three launches since its development in 2021. The new vehicle is planned to make three launches in 2030, 2031 and 2032, with the third launch carrying a moon spacecraft aboard.
The selected company will be responsible for designing, manufacturing and the operation of the space vehicle in cooperation with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said the Ministry of Science and ICT.
With the bidding process starting in mid-December organized by the Public Procurement Service, the government will select the preferred bidder at the end of February next year and finalize the deal the following month.
Hanwha Aerospace Co., Korea Aerospace Industries, Korean Air Lines Co. and others have been preparing to make a bid for the project, according to industry sources.
(Yonhap)
