The CubeSat "K-HERO (KAIST Hall Effect Rocket Orbiter)," developed by the research team led by Professor Won-ho Choi of our department, is scheduled to launch into space on the 4th Nuri launch vehicle, which will be launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on the morning of the 27th.

This 4th launch of Nuri is the first launch managed by the private company Hanwha Aerospace, following technology transfer from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and is expected to be a significant milestone in the transformation of the domestic space industry.

Along with the main payload, the Next Generation Medium Satellite 3, 12 CubeSats developed by industry, academia, and research will be carried, of which K-HERO is one.

Professor Won-ho Choi's research team began research on Hall thrusters in 2003, becoming the first in Korea to secure core technology based on plasma physics.
In 2013, the practicality of the technology was proven by successfully installing a 200W Hall thruster on the KAIST Science and Technology Satellite 3.

This time, the team has developed a next-generation model targeting ultra-small satellites, improving its operation at even lower power (30W).

Professor Choi Won-ho stated, "Starting with K-HERO, the number of small satellites equipped with electric thrusters will increase significantly in Korea.

The Hall thruster being verified this time can be used for a variety of missions, including low-Earth orbit constellation surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, 6G communication satellites, ultra-low-Earth orbit high-resolution satellites, and asteroid probes."