The national space agency said Wednesday it will invest a combined 806.4 billion won ($562.5 million) in research and development projects this year as part of efforts to turn South Korea into one of five global leaders in the aerospace sector.
The agency's R&D budget for 2025 marks a 43.3 percent increase from that of last year, according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration.
In detail, some 187.4 billion won will be funneled into R&D projects by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute.
Another 147.8 billion won will be injected into advancing South Korea's space rocket technologies, while 150.8 billion won will be used for developing a next-generation space rocket and 500 million won for the development of reusable rocket technologies.
KASA will also invest 24.9 billion won in developing a microsatellite swarm, and 35 billion won for a geostationary orbit communications satellite.
Additionally, KASA plans to invest 7.3 billion won in a joint project with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to launch a Lunar Space Environment Monitor, and 45 billion won for its independent lunar spacecraft development project. (Yonhap)
