Public Call for Secondary Payload Satellites
for the 5th Nuri Rocket Launch
- Plan to solicit a total of 8 secondary payloads:
1 additional for the 4th launch and 7 for the 5th launch -
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), headed by Administrator Yoon Youngbin, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), headed by President Lee Sang-ryul, have announced a public call for secondary payload satellites for the 4th and 5th launches of the Nuri rocket. Open to industry, research institutions, and government agencies (including local governments), the call will run for four weeks starting Monday, December 9, 2024.
KASA and KARI plan to launch five small constellation satellites as the primary payload for the 5th Nuri rocket in the first half of 2026. To further enhance satellite technology and utilization capabilities across domestic industries, research institutions, and government bodies (including local governments), KASA and KARI will also solicit a total of seven CubeSats as secondary payloads.
Alongside the primary payload and CubeSats selected through this call, the 5th launch will also include two CubeSats developed by domestic universities (Chosun University, Pusan National University, and KAIST) as part of the "2022 CubeSat Competition" as well as a domestically developed Component Verification Satellite 2, created by KARI, to validate indigenous parts and components.
The 4th launch of the Nuri rocket, scheduled for the second half of 2025, will carry the CAS500-3 as its primary payload, along with a total of 12 secondary payloads. Due to delays in the development of a foreign CubeSat initially planned for inclusion, this call will also solicit an additional secondary payload (3U CubeSat) for the 4th launch.
Hyun Seong-yoon, Director of the Space Transportation Mission Design Program at KASA, stated, "By providing opportunities for public-use satellites to be launched on the Nuri rocket, we aim to invigorate the aerospace industry ecosystem and validate satellite performance in the space environment. This effort is expected to significantly enhance Korea's national space technology competitiveness."
For further information, please contact the Space Transportation Mission Design Program (Phone: +82-55-856-5119) of the Korea AeroSpace Administration.