South Korea announces its own missile production after rupturing contract with Russia

South Korea has cancelled its contract with Russia to launch the Arirang-6 satellite. Due to Western sanctions imposed on the Russian federation, Korea decided to develop its own launch vehicle programme.

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South Korea's Vice Minister for Science Oh Tae-Seog reiterated that the attempt to launch Arirang-6, a joint launch with Roscosmos, failed. However, Seoul has no plans to leave the space launch market.

The cost of the contract with Russia was almost $60 million. South Korea paid just over a third of that amount ($22 million). The Arirang-6 satellite will be launched jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA).

In the coming decades, South Korea intends to land spacecraft on the Moon (by 2032) and Mars (by 2045). The country's share of the space market is set to increase from 1% now to 10% in 2045.

Source: Bloomberg