Hanwha Aerospace Completes South Korea's Largest Private-Sector Space Launch Vehicle Production Facility in Suncheon

Production of Launch Vehicles from the Nuri to Hanwha's Own

Mutual Growth Partnership Declared with 40 Partner Companies

Hanwha Aerospace has built South Korea's largest private-sector space launch vehicle production facility in Suncheon, Jeonnam. The company plans to accelerate its entry into the global space transportation market by establishing a key hub that will produce the Nuri, the next-generation launch vehicle and launch vehicles it develops independently.

A view of Hanwha Aerospace's Suncheon plant, located in the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Suncheon, Jeonnam-Gwangju. Hanwha Aerospace

Hanwha Aerospace said on November 4 that it held a completion ceremony for its Suncheon site, a space launch vehicle manufacturing center, in the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Suncheon, Jeonnam-Gwangju. About 300 key figures attended, including Min Hyungbae, Special Mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City; Assembly Members Kim Moonsoo and Hwang Jeonga; Kwon Hyunjun, Deputy Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Administration; and Son Hunmo, Mayor of Suncheon.

The Suncheon site is a production facility for integrating and assembling major components of space launch vehicles, covering approximately 18,000 pyeong. It will handle the 75-ton-class engines for the Nuri's sixth launch, scheduled for next year, as well as the assembly of the launch vehicle's first, second and third stages and performance testing. The site is also slated to produce the next-generation launch vehicle, a demonstrator for reusable technology and space launch vehicles that Hanwha is developing independently.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to build up its capabilities to produce key launch vehicle components, including methane engines and propellant tanks, and develop the Suncheon site into a major hub for the space transportation industry. Alongside its ongoing Nuri enhancement program, the company aims to enter the global space transportation market in 2029 with a launch vehicle developed independently. It also plans to begin commercial launch services for the Nuri and the next-generation launch vehicle in 2033.

The company aims to build a portfolio of launch vehicles capable of supporting a range of space missions, from very low Earth orbit to Mars.

The Suncheon site will serve as a key production hub in the space business value chain being developed by the Hanwha Group. Hanwha is pursuing an integrated space solutions business that connects the development and production of launch vehicles and satellites with space transportation, satellite communications and data utilization.

Hanwha Group previously announced plans to invest a total of 55 trillion won in the aerospace and artificial intelligence (AI) industries by 2040. Of that amount, Hanwha Aerospace plans to invest approximately 23 trillion won in space transportation services.

At the completion ceremony, Hanwha Aerospace also held a “Mutual Growth Partnership Vision Declaration Ceremony” with 40 partner companies involved in launch vehicle production. The goal is to strengthen cooperation among companies participating in the development of the Nuri, the next-generation launch vehicle and Hanwha's independently developed launch vehicles, and to enhance the competitiveness of South Korea's space industry ecosystem.

“The Suncheon site is key infrastructure for South Korea's leap into the era of privately led New Space,” said Kim Seon, head of Hanwha Aerospace's space business. “Together with domestic space companies, we will strengthen our technological competitiveness and build a foundation for South Korea's space industry to compete in the global market.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.