Hanwha Systems signs on to build Korea's national space debris tracking system
Hanwha Systems
Hanwha Systems will build a surveillance satellite and AI ground system for South Korea's national space situational awareness project.
what happened
Hanwha Systems signed a contract on September 9 with the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) to join as the private-sector developer of Korea's national system for tracking and predicting collisions among objects in orbit, per the Korea Times and the Seoul Economic Daily. Hanwha Systems will build a space-based surveillance satellite operating at roughly 480 km altitude with an optical camera to detect and track orbital objects in real time, plus an AI-powered ground system to analyze and predict collision and reentry risks. The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) leads the overall K-SSA project, with KASI as the lead research institute; neither outlet stated a contract value or completion date.
why it matters
The award makes Hanwha Systems the commercial supplier for South Korea's sovereign space situational awareness capability, a government procurement of commercial space services as the country's own satellite population grows. It adds a national security-adjacent program to Hanwha's space portfolio alongside its existing satellite and defense manufacturing work.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Hanwha Systems
- Category
- procurement
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-09-09
- Published
- 2026-09-21 05:30 UTC