Hanwha Aerospace opens Suncheon facility as 'hub of private space economy'

Hanwha Aerospace has completed its new Suncheon facility, a 59,400-square-meter complex that will assemble 75-ton-class engines and launch vehicles for the sixth Nuri rocket.

The company held a completion ceremony Wednesday at the Yulchon industrial complex in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province. About 300 officials attended, including Min Hyeong-bae, mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Integrated City, lawmakers Kim Moon-su and Hwang Jeong-a, Korea AeroSpace Administration Deputy Administrator Kwon Hyeon-jun, and Suncheon Mayor Son Hun-mo.

Hanwha Aerospace said it plans to use the facility — which it describes as the largest private space launch vehicle production facility in South Korea — as the foundation for driving the private space economy. Government projects to be carried out there include assembly and performance verification of the first, second and third stages of the Nuri-6 launch vehicle, which is scheduled to launch next year.

The Suncheon site will also serve as the base for Hanwha Aerospace's broader space ambitions. The company plans to enter the global space transportation market with a self-developed launch vehicle by 2029 and to begin commercial launch services using a next-generation vehicle by 2033.

Through these efforts, Hanwha Aerospace aims to build a full space industry value chain spanning launch vehicles, satellites, space transportation, satellite communications and data services. "We will be able to provide optimal space transportation services tailored to the orbit and payload scale our customers require," a company official said. Hanwha Aerospace plans to invest about 23 trillion won ($17.1 billion) in the space transportation sector.

Following the completion ceremony, Hanwha Aerospace also held a "co-prosperity vision declaration" with 40 partner companies that participated in manufacturing the Nuri launch vehicle.

Kim Seon, head of Hanwha Aerospace's space business division, said the Suncheon facility is "core infrastructure for South Korea's leap into a privately led New Space era," adding that the company will "work with domestic space companies to strengthen technological competitiveness and build a foundation for South Korea's space industry to compete in the global market."