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S. Korea, Thailand sign deal to cooperate for feasibility study for space launch site

February 13, 2023

South Korea and Thailand have agreed to work together for a project to build a space launch site in the Southeast Asian country, the science ministry said Monday.

The Ministry of Science and ICT signed an implementation agreement with the Geo-Information and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand to cooperate in carrying out a feasibility study for the spaceport, using South Korea’s experience in its space projects.

The move came after South Korean Science Minister Lee Jong-ho and his Thai counterpart, Anek Laothamatas, discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the space sector in November last year.

South Korea has participated in some of Thailand’s space projects, including THEOS-2, the Earth observation optical satellite.

South Korea built the Naro Space Center in the country’s southern coastal village of Goheung in 2009, which has supported six launches, including the latest launch of Nuri, or KSLV-II, the country’s first homegrown space rocket, last year.

South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, southwestern South Korea, in this file photo taken June 21, 2022, as the country makes a second attempt to put satellites into orbit. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
South Korea’s homegrown space rocket Nuri lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, southwestern South Korea, in this file photo taken June 21, 2022, as the country makes a second attempt to put satellites into orbit. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)