– Approval of Revised Next Generation Launch Vehicle Development Plan Completed Following Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Adequacy Review
– 2.292 Trillion KRW Confirmed for Developing Methane-Propellant Based Reusable Next-Generation Launch Vehicle
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA, Administrator Yoon Youngbin) announced that the results of the "Project Plan Adequacy Review" regarding the early transition of the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle to a reusable system* were deliberated and approved during the Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee (Ministry of Economy and Finance) held on Monday, December 22.
* Confirmed through the "Revised 4th Master Plan for Space Development Promotion," deliberated and approved at the 4th National Space Committee (Nov. 2025), which aims to "achieve lunar exploration missions and secure a reusable system early by developing a methane engine-based reusable Next-Generation Launch Vehicle."
Following the adequacy review for the transition to a methane-based reusable launch vehicle, the total project budget has been finalized at 2.92 trillion KRW, an increase of 278.85 billion KRW from the original plan. The majority of the increased budget will be allocated to constructing methane-propellant test facilities and developing core reusability technologies.
In particular, the revised project plan shifts from the previous method of simultaneously developing two types of kerosene-based multi-stage combustion cycle engines for the first and second stages to developing a single 80-ton methane propellant engine to be applied to both stages. This approach aims to ensure the successful execution of the lunar lander launch mission scheduled for 2032 while progressively securing a globally competitive reusable launch vehicle.
Originally, for the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle development project initiated in 2023 following a preliminary feasibility study in 2022, KASA applied for administrative procedures to transition to a reusable launch vehicle last May. This was to address the rapidly growing national space development demand expected in the 2030s and to respond timely to the global competition for reusable launch vehicles. In November, the National Space Council finalized the "Revised 4th Master Plan for Space Development Promotion," which officially included the development of the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle as a methane-based reusable launch vehicle.
KASA Administrator Yoon Youngbin emphasized, "The approval of the plan to transition the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle into a reusable system not only demonstrates the seamless implementation of the government's national agenda of leapfrogging and growth through technological innovation but also marks a pivotal starting point for securing low-cost, high-frequency space launch capabilities alongside our independent lunar lander launch in 2032, fulfilling the expectations of the public who supported the Nuri rocket launches."