The "Twist" Behind Why Nuri Cannot Go to the Moon Despite Four Consecutive Successes

1. The Successful 5th Launch of Nuri: Where Does the Space Industry Stand?

The 5th launch of the Nuri rocket has also concluded successfully. All five primary observation satellites established smooth communications. Except for one cube satellite that failed to deploy, the remaining nine were sent into space to carry out their missions. With the exception of the 1st launch, where the rocket fell slightly short of power just before reaching the target orbit, launches from the 2nd onward have succeeded four consecutive times. Can we safely say that our space industry has entered a normal orbit? While Nuri is undoubtedly an outstanding achievement, many experts evaluate that with Nuri's success, we have now only just taken our first step into the space industry. Let's look at the most famous rocket. SpaceX's Falcon 9 boasts overwhelming indicators of over 600 launches and a 99% mission success rate. Russia's Soyuz rocket has hundreds of launches, and the European Space Agency's Ariane rocket has over 100, both maintaining mission performance rates above 90%. Nuri is still falling short to compete on that level.

2. It Is Difficult for Nuri to Reach the Moon? Why?

Then what are Nuri's plans going forward? With the Nuri advanced project added once more, Nuri is scheduled to be launched two more times until 2028. Naturally, this is not the end. Through subsequent projects, the goal is to launch once a year until 2032. A lunar orbiter communication satellite is planned for 2029, though the project has not yet been finalized. The problem is that it is difficult to send satellites to the moon using Nuri alone. There are various orbits in space to get to the moon, which you can think of as a kind of highway. To enter this road, a vehicle flying at 7.7 to 7.8 kilometers per second in a low Earth orbit at an altitude of 300 kilometers must accelerate its speed up to 10.8 to 10.9 kilometers per second. The problem is that acceleration itself is impossible because Nuri's 3rd stage cannot be reignited. Furthermore, with Nuri's current thrust, the weight that can be placed into a lunar transfer orbit is only 100 kg, making it impossible to send a satellite capable of performing missions. Therefore, an orbital transfer vehicle is under development at a cost of some 40 billion won. This orbital transfer vehicle is loaded inside Nuri's fairing along with the satellite, helping the satellite travel to the moon much like a 4th-stage rocket.

3. Why Until 2032 for Nuri?

Then why is the period for Nuri's successive projects set until 2032? It is because that is around when the next-generation launch vehicle, which prepares for Nuri's next phase, will be ready. The next-generation launch vehicle is a successor project to Nuri, boasting a thrust of 700 tons, which is more than double Nuri's 300-ton class thrust. It is a two-stage rocket advantageous for reusability. While Nuri can carry 3.3 tons based on low Earth orbit, the next-generation launch vehicle is expected to carry over 10 tons. According to current plans, a test launch is scheduled for 2031, followed by two launches in 2032. The 2032 launches plan to carry a lunar orbiter and a lunar lander respectively into space to deliver payloads to the moon. The important point is that the baton must be smoothly passed from Nuri to the next-generation launch vehicle. This is because the European Space Agency's Ariane 5 was retired before the launch of its successor, Ariane 6, and as the development and launch of Ariane 6 were delayed, the European Space Agency experienced an unexpected space gap.

4. Nuri Costs Reduced to 1/10th?

Securing economic feasibility is also very critical. The next-generation launch vehicle was initially intended to be developed as a rocket using the same kerosene as Nuri, but the project was changed to a methane-fueled rocket, which is advantageous for reusability. This is because methane, which contains fewer carbons in its molecules and produces less soot during combustion than kerosene, which generates a lot of soot, is more advantageous. The Korea AeroSpace Administration projected that if the next-generation launch vehicle is successfully developed as a reusable launch vehicle, launch costs can be lowered down to 1/10th of the current Nuri launch cost. Launch vehicle costs depend heavily on how much the passenger satellite pays per kilogram; while Nuri currently costs about $24,000 per kg, the next-generation launch vehicle can lower it to about $2,500. Not only can it carry more passengers per launch, but economic feasibility is secured by recovering and reusing even the 1st stage rocket that was previously discarded. In this case, even if passengers are charged the same amount, more profit can be left over. Although it is an estimate, SpaceX's Falcon 9 also has a payload cost of about $2,500 per kg, though industry experts estimate that it actually charges about $5,000. Everything explained so far is still just a plan. What I felt while covering Nuri more than five times is that due to its scale and scientific limitations, implementing the space industry according to plan is truly not easy. This 5th launch of Nuri was the first time it was launched without delaying the scheduled time by even a single minute. We hope that our remaining space industry plans, like the 5th launch of Nuri, will proceed smoothly.

(Reported by Seo Donggyun, Produced by Shin Hee-suk, Video reporting by Kang Dong-chul, Video editing by Hong Jin-young, Design by Lee Jung-joo, Source: YouTube 'SpaceX', Produced by SBS Digital News)

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