South Korea’s Successful Rocket Launch Boosts Companies’ Aerospace Ambitions

The Nuri rocket, the first domestically produced space rocket, lifts off from a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, on June 21, 2022. Korea Pool/Yonhap via AP

South Korea’s successful launch of a domestically-developed rocket on Tuesday has spurred companies’ hopes to capitalize on prospects in the national space program.

More than 300 private companies contributed to the development of the Nuri rocket, also known as Korean Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), which cost roughly 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in total.