Comments
PumpkimJam4812 t1_j0mfgsn wrote
You really think South Korea can't afford such a thing? Funding is easy when you can freely sell your citizens and take all their wealth.
Grazedaze t1_j0mibxp wrote
But why now. What has forced an international space race? Chinas aggressive agenda?
robertojh_200 t1_j0nfjrm wrote
Among other things. I’d say that the moon approaching economic viability is a big factor. There’s (actual) gold on the moon that would be profitable to mine and return to earth right now, with currently flying craft. Helium 3 is another ultra rare, ultra expensive resource that the moon has a lot of.
When starship flies, and economics of scale kick in, you see a snowball effect where the cheaper space flight becomes, the more lucrative it also becomes and therefore cheaper still. People want to jump on that next, final frontier.
megachainguns t1_j0lupl4 wrote
The cool thing is that they are using hybrid engines (solid propellant [paraffin] and liquid oxidizer [liquid oxygen]) and they are also launching from Brazil.
Their website: http://www.innospc.com/
more stuff on r/SouthKoreaSpace (my subreddit)
jacksprat202020 t1_j0mqpg4 wrote
S. Korea must be tired of N. Korea trying to intimidate them with all of those N. Korean rockets flying everywhere. Maybe it's their version of a Cold War.
Grazedaze t1_j0l9x5w wrote
Don’t these vehicles cost millions to make. How are so many companies popping up with this cash flow?