Seoul: South Korea’s government plans to support local companies export more space-related products in order to push up sales in the high tech industry to 1.35 trillion won ($1.27bn) in 2014, an official source said yesterday.
The plan is part of an ongoing effort by Seoul to grab a larger portion of the global space business that is forecast to reach 216 trillion won in 2020, according to South Korea’s News Agency.
In 2012, total sales for the country’s space industry reached 1.16 trillion won. The goal is to increase space-related exports to 92.5bn won this year from 41.5bn won in 2012.
Besides increasing sales and exports, Seoul said it will move forward with plans to develop a rocket to send a unmanned probe to the moon by 2020, and participate in a joint international efforts to build a telescope in the Earth’s orbit.
It said that with more and more countries moving to send commercial satellites into space, related manufacturing and launch services will become lucrative business. By 2020, countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America are planning to send 1,145 satellites into orbit to create a potential 216 trillion won market.
Reflecting the country’s ambitions to tap into such opportunities, the science ministry said 204.3bn won has been set aside this year for the construction of a next generation space rocket and small satellites. The funds represent a 66.7bn won increase from the year before. QNA
