Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin companies that serve the aerospace industry may find opportunities to partner with businesses in South Korea.
South Korea plans to build its own satellite-based navigation system by 2034.
The government says it will invest more than $3.3 billion to develop a Korea Positioning System (KPS). The new system will aim to be more accurate and precise than existing satellite navigation systems and will accommodate next-generation technologies such as autonomous driving and urban air transportation.
Currently, South Korea relies on the U.S.’s commercial global positioning system, and its signals have resulted in errors of as much as 10 meters, or nearly 33 feet.
South Korea has been planning KPS since 2018, and it received approval from a budget feasibility study in 2021. The project calls for launching eight satellites—the first in 2027—with service to begin in 2034 and 2035. It will cover Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. When the system is operational, South Korea will become the seventh nation in the world to have its own satellite-based positioning, navigation, and timing system, according to SpaceNews. The others are the U.S., Russia, Europe, China, India, and Japan.
When U.S. President Joe Biden visited South Korea in 2022, he and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to strengthen cooperation on all space-related issues. Biden also gave his support to South Korea’s satellite navigation plan.
As a result of the satellite technology project, Wisconsin companies involved in the space, aerospace, or defense industries may find opportunities in South Korea.
