The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on September 29 that it had begun assembling the first flight model of a reusable technology demonstrator at Hanwha Aerospace’s Suncheon assembly plant. KARI aims to conduct low-altitude vertical takeoff and landing flight tests at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, in 2028, following final assembly and ground testing.
The reusable technology demonstrator is a test vehicle designed to validate core technologies prior to the development of an actual reusable launch vehicle. The goal is to verify the technology and gain development experience by conducting vertical takeoff and landing tests at low altitudes using small engines, thereby reducing risks that may arise during the development of the main launch vehicle.
Last year, South Korea finalized a plan to shift the direction of its next-generation launch vehicle project toward developing a reusable launch vehicle. Accordingly, the demonstrator will serve to validate the country’s independent reusable technology in advance. KARI plans to reduce technical risks during the development of the next-generation launch vehicle by leveraging the technology and experience gained from the low-altitude vertical takeoff and landing demonstrator. Flight Model No. 1, which has now entered the assembly phase, is the aircraft that will be used for actual flight tests.
The demonstration vehicle is a single-stage aircraft measuring 12.2 meters in height, 1.5 meters in diameter, and weighing 6.4 metric tons. It is equipped with a single 8-metric-ton multi-stage combustion cycle turbopump engine—smaller than the 80-metric-ton engine currently under development for the reusable next-generation launch vehicle—and uses liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants. For landing, it is equipped with four fixed landing legs fitted with industrial hydraulic dampers.
Development has been underway in collaboration with private companies since 2023. Hanwha Aerospace is responsible for the system, Beitsro Nextech for the engine, and Hanyang E&G for the ground support equipment. The company plans to complete combustion tests on the engine development model and the manufacturing of components by the end of this year, and to finish combustion tests on two flight models of the engine and the assembly and functional testing of the first demonstration unit by 2027. In 2028, following ground combustion testing of the first unit, two flight tests will be conducted to verify vertical takeoff and landing performance and the technologies necessary for reusability. The flight tests will proceed only after the engine combustion tests, airframe assembly and functional tests, and ground combustion tests have been successfully completed in sequence.
The United States, Japan, and Europe also validated relevant technologies using demonstration vehicles before developing reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX’s “Grasshopper” demonstration vehicle performed vertical takeoff and landing to a maximum altitude of approximately 700 meters. Japan joined the race to develop reusable launch vehicles in July of this year by successfully conducting a vertical takeoff and landing test at a height of 11 meters using the RV-X, a small reusable demonstrator measuring 7.3 meters in length and 1.8 meters in diameter.
Lee Sang-cheol, President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), stated, “Reusable technology demonstrators are significant for verifying the technologies necessary for the development of reusable launch vehicles in advance and for accumulating development experience.” He added, “We will work with private companies to progressively carry out engine verification, demonstrator development, and flight tests to lay the technical foundation necessary for the development of reusable launch vehicles.”
