Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing time April 3 news, at present, South Korea's Hanhua Aerospace Company (Hanwha Aerospace Co.) In the process of building the country's first commercial rocket, the company has set an ambitious goal of catching up with Elon Musk's SpaceX in launch prices over the next decade.

South Korea's "World" rocket launch Hanhua Aerospace is the only aero-engine manufacturer in South Korea, which is affiliated to Hanhua Group. Hanhua Group is a 71-year-old conglomerate that started as an explosives manufacturer, then dabbled in arms sales and is now turning to green energy, defence and aerospace. Funds from Hanhua Group's arms sales to Ukraine's neighbours are helping it expand its two-year-old space business.

Yoo Dongwan, senior executive vice president of reusable rocket Hanhua Aeronautics and Astronautics, said in an interview that the Korean Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics's rocket Nuri, which uses Hanhua engines, cannot be reused yet, but the company aims to halve launch prices by 2032 to the same level as SpaceX. SpaceX's Falcon 9 currently costs about $67 million per launch.

"at first, we may be a niche company, but in the end, we want to catch up with SpaceX." Liu Dongwan said in an interview in Seoul.

South Korean President Yoon Seok-Yue has made it his goal to develop his country's commercial rocket industry. Last year, Hanhua Aerospace won a bid with the South Korean government to develop the next generation of commercial rockets.

SpaceX Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket. so far, Hanhua Aerospace is only engaged in aircraft components and engines, and plans to build three more "World" rockets with South Korean government researchers. In Japan, Mitsubishi heavy Industries's H3 rocket recently failed to get into orbit, with the goal of keeping the cost of each launch at $50 million.

Mr Liu said demand for South Korean rockets would initially be driven by the government, but the company's ultimate goal was to halve the share of government business. He added that Hanhua Aerospace is seeking to develop its own next generation of rockets.

"our goal is to develop reusable rockets," he said. "this is something we have to develop ourselves because foreign companies are not willing to share technology with us."

Also dabble in satellites this year, Hanhua Aerospace's share price has risen more than 30%. In 2022, Hanhua Group merged all its defense operations into Hanhua Aerospace, driving Hanhua Aerospace's share price up 53%. Hanhua Group is a family-controlled conglomerate led by Dong Kwan Kim, the Harvard-educated heir to aerospace.

Like other competitors, Hanhua Aerospace is not willing to be a rocket company, but is also looking to expand into satellite operations, lunar exploration and resource exploitation. Hanhua Aerospace has acquired a 9 per cent stake in OneWeb, a UK satellite start-up, which is a competitor to SpaceX's "star chain" satellite internet service. Moreover, Hanhua is acquiring a 49.3 per cent stake in submarine maker Daewoo Shipbuilding Ocean, which will become its largest shareholder.

Han Hua is one of the world's fastest growing weapons manufacturers and Hanhua Aerospace is one of the world's fastest growing aerospace and defense contractors. Of the 100 companies analyzed in PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2022 Global Aerospace and Defense report, Hanhua Systems, a subsidiary of Hanhua Aerospace, ranked third in terms of revenue growth. It ranks first among Asian companies.

Profitable arms sales last year, Hanhua Aerospace had sales of 6.5 trillion won ($5 billion) and record operating profits, of which arms sales were the highest. It signed a new contract with Poland and established partnerships with Romania and Egypt. Poland and Romania are both neighbors of Ukraine.

According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, South Korea's arms exports increased by 74% in 2022, while Britain's arms exports fell by 35%, Spain by 4.4% and Israel by 15%. South Korea is in a unique position in the global arms market, and its weapons are relatively cheap. The Hanhua KMur9 cannon was used in the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010.

"Han Hua is making huge profits from arms sales. As a result, the company has the ability to invest in the aerospace business," said Lee Dong-Heon, an investment analyst at Xinhan Financial in Seoul.

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