Hanwha Systems Completes Jeju Space Center
Research, development, manufacturing, and launching all in one place
“The largest advanced space development facility in Korea”, said Hanwha Systems during its launch ceremony. With the announcement of its completion, fireworks soared into the sky. This marks the beginning of a new era in the ‘New Space’, led by the private sector rather than the government. The private satellite manufacturing base, set to become a key hub for Korea’s space industry, opened its doors in Jeju. Developed by Hanwha Systems, the Jeju Space Center is the largest private satellite manufacturing infrastructure in Korea, capable of producing 100 satellites annually. The center’s vision is to elevate the competitiveness of Korea’s space industry by building a comprehensive supply chain—from research and development (R&D), manufacturing, to launching.
At the completion ceremony held at the Hawon Techno Campus in Seogwipo on December 2, Hanwha Systems CEO Son Jae-il remarked, “In order to achieve a leap into the world’s top five space powers, we have established facilities integrating ultra-precision and high-tech technologies” and emphasized, “It is significant as the largest advanced space development dedicated facility completely built with private capital.”
The center covers a 30,000㎡ area—equivalent to four soccer fields—with a total floor area of 11,400㎡. It consists of satellite development and assembly areas, satellite function and performance testing sites, integrated satellite test clean rooms, a space center control room, and a space environment testing control room. A representative from Hanwha Systems stated, “Beyond mass assembly and storage of satellites, the facility can simulate launch environments with vibration and noise, as well as vacuum, extreme cold, and extreme heat conditions, thereby ensuring satellite quality.”
The center is expected to produce up to 100 small low-orbit satellites annually. It will mainly manufacture synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites used for Earth observation. SAR systems involve emitting radar waves from the air towards the ground and synthesizing the slight time differences of the waves bouncing back from various surfaces to create terrain maps.
Hanwha Systems has embarked on developing the ‘VLEO UHR SAR’ satellite, capable of observing Earth with ultra-high resolution of 0.15m (15cm) at altitudes below 400km. A 15cm resolution means that when capturing an image of the ground from space, a pixel represents an area of approximately 15cm square, about the size of a mobile phone or a bottle of water. Previously, in 2023, Hanwha Systems launched Korea’s first SAR satellite with a resolution of 1 meter developed with purely domestic technology and plans to launch satellites with 0.5m, and 0.25m resolutions next year.
The ultra-high-resolution images obtained will generate various added values. These images, after undergoing data analysis and processing through artificial intelligence (AI), will be widely used in climate and environmental change prediction, disaster monitoring, resource exploration, security, and map production. Hanwha Systems plans to expand its global satellite data service business by mass-producing its own satellites and actively pursuing the production of export satellites and contract manufacturing.
Mr. Son asserted, “Being in the southernmost part of Korea provides optimal launch angles and stabilized drop zones, creating ideal conditions for satellite launches. By drastically reducing the physical distance to launch points, a perfect value chain (value chain) from satellite development, manufacturing, launching, control, to image analysis services will be established.”
Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon stated, “The center completed today signals Jeju’s rebirth as the heart of New Space” and emphasized, “Combining Hanwha Jeju Space Center’s manufacturing capabilities with the ‘Korean Positioning System (KPS) Ground System’ infrastructure, which was hosted last September, the Hawon Techno Campus will become a key hub for Korea’s space industry.”