Hanwha Aerospace said Wednesday that it held a completion ceremony for its Suncheon facility, a space launch vehicle manufacturing center, at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Suncheon City, South Jeolla Province.
The ceremony was attended by more than 300 people, including Min Hyeong-bae, Mayor of the Integrated Special City of South Jeolla and Gwangju; Kim Moon-soo and Hwang Jung-a, members of the National Assembly; Kwon Hyun-jun, Deputy Director of the Korea Aerospace Administration; and Son Hun-mo, Mayor of Suncheon.
The Suncheon facility, developed on a site of approximately 18,000 pyeong (about 59,400 square meters), is responsible for the assembly and performance verification of key components of space launch vehicles.
The assembly and verification of the 75th-ton-class engine to be mounted on Nuri-6, scheduled for launch next year, as well as the first through third stages of the launch vehicle, will be carried out here. In the future, the facility is also expected to produce next-generation launch vehicles, reusable technology demonstration vehicles, and launch vehicles under Hanwha's in-house development. It has also secured production capacity for core components such as methane engines and propellant tanks.
By consolidating the assembly and verification functions for key launch vehicle components in one location, the company expects to enhance production efficiency and flexibly respond to future commercial launch demand.
Hanwha Aerospace aims to enter the global space transportation market by 2029 using its self-developed launch vehicles. The company plans to begin commercial launch services for Nuri and next-generation launch vehicles in 2033. It is working to build a launch vehicle portfolio capable of responding to various missions and payload sizes, ranging from low Earth orbit to Mars.
The Suncheon facility plays a central role in Hanwha Group's strategy to expand its space business. Hanwha Group has decided to invest a total of 55 trillion won in the aerospace and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors by 2040. Of this amount, Hanwha Aerospace will invest approximately 23 trillion won in the space transportation services sector.
The company is also strengthening cooperation with its partners. On the same day, Hanwha Aerospace held a vision declaration ceremony for symbiotic cooperation with 40 partner companies that participated in the production of Nuri and next-generation launch vehicles. The plan is to expand cooperation in areas such as launch vehicle engines, propulsion systems, structures, and electronic equipment to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic space industry ecosystem.
Kim Sun, head of Space Business at Hanwha Aerospace, said, "The Suncheon facility is a key infrastructure for South Korea's leap into a new space era led by the private sector," adding, "We will work with domestic space companies to enhance technological competitiveness and build a foundation to compete in the global market."
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