Hanwha Aerospace to Assemble Launch Vehicle Stages at Suncheon Site Starting with Nuri No. 6 Next Year

【Financial News, Jeonnam-Gwangju = Hwang Tae-jong, Reporter】Hanwha Aerospace’s Suncheon site, a launch vehicle stage assembly facility, has been completed. Stage assembly will begin in earnest there with Nuri No. 6, scheduled for launch in the second half of next year. The assembled stages will then be transported by sea to the Naro Space Center in Goheung for final launch vehicle assembly and launch preparations.
According to Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City) on the 4th, the completion ceremony was held that day at Hanwha Aerospace’s Suncheon site, located in the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Haeryong-myeon, Suncheon. Around 200 people from the government, National Assembly, local governments and the space industry attended, including Min Hyung-bae, mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City); Hanwha Aerospace Vice President Kim Seon; lawmakers Kim Moon-soo and Hwang Jeong-a; Park Jae-seong, a division head at the Korea AeroSpace Administration; and Suncheon Mayor Son Hun-mo.
Mayor Min Hyung-bae emphasized, “Jeonnam-Gwangju is the starting point on the Republic of Korea’s path to becoming a global spaceport in Asia. With Hanwha Aerospace’s Suncheon site joining the Naro Space Center, the country’s first space launch site, Jeonnam-Gwangju has laid the foundation to emerge as a key hub for the Republic of Korea’s launch vehicle industry.”
The Suncheon site was built on a 61,146-square-meter plot at a total project cost of 50.8 billion won. It is equipped with production facilities for manufacturing and assembling space launch vehicles, including the capability to assemble and inspect the functions of Nuri’s first, second and third stages. It has 60 permanent employees.
In particular, the site is expected to contribute to building a regional space launch vehicle industry ecosystem in connection with the government’s strategy to establish a space and aviation industry belt along the southern coast. It is also set to serve as a production hub supporting a stable mass-production system for next-generation launch vehicles, including Nuri.
The government is currently pursuing a shift to a private-sector-led space launch vehicle industry through repeated Nuri launches. At a Cabinet meeting on October 20, President Lee Jae-myung called for consideration of increasing the number of launches and expanding investment in the space and aviation sector.
In line with this government policy, Gwangju Special City plans to invest 1.6 trillion won, including national government funding, by 2031 to foster a private-sector-led space launch vehicle industry. It plans to expand key infrastructure, including private launch sites and engine combustion test facilities, and establish a full-cycle support system for companies, from technology development through commercialization, including by building a launch vehicle technology commercialization center.
The city also plans to link Suncheon’s launch vehicle manufacturing and assembly capabilities with the launch infrastructure at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, building a space launch vehicle industry ecosystem spanning manufacturing, testing and launches, and developing Jeonnam-Gwangju into a global spaceport.
Mayor Min Hyung-bae said, “Jeonnam-Gwangju will contribute to the development of the Republic of Korea’s space industry by linking Suncheon’s launch vehicle production capabilities with Goheung’s launch infrastructure, fostering a private-sector-led space industry, and working to attract a second space center and the Aerospace Promotion Agency.”
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