Hanwha Corporation (Hanwha) announced on June 28 that it will invest KRW 8 billion won (US$7 million) in the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to develop a "Storable Bipropellant Thruster" by 2025.
The thrusters are responsible for orbital modification and posture control of satellites. It is called the "heart of satellites" because it is directly linked to the life span of satellite.
Earth gravity or other planets constantly interfere with satellite operations and the satellite can fix its orbit and position by operating thrusters from time to time.
Until now, "Storable Bipropellant Thrust," which was applied to geostationary satellites, has relied entirely on products from foreign companies such as Germany.
The thrusters developed by Hanwha and KARI will be applied with a "Bipropellant" system that allows geostationary satellites to perform their duties stably for a longer period of time.
The geostationary orbit satellite must be separated from the projectile and then mounted on its own thrust to the mission orbit. Satellites must operate in extreme space environments for more than 15 years.
Bipropellant can adjust the amount of fuel by storing fuel and oxidants in different tanks, which can store a lot of fuel for long periods of time.
Kim Seung-mo, CEO of Hanwha Corporation's defense division, said, "It is significant to localize core technologies that were 100% dependent on foreign countries ahead of the New Space era."
KARI is currently working on "Space Pioneer Project," a project to localize high-tech space components.
Hanwha, meanwhile, has built up its technology since the mid-1990s by producing satellite single propellant thrusters. The thrusters are equipped with multi-purpose practical satellites and next-generation medium-sized satellites, and are still carrying out missions in space.
