국방우주력 발전을 위한 해상기반 우주영역인식체계 활용방안 연구

Abstract

In the era of space exploration, all-round efforts at the national level for the development of space power are continuing. Until now, Korea's space situation awareness has been led by three institutions: the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and the Republic of Korea Air Force. So far there has been no discussion on maritime-based space awareness system. Currently, these institutions have raised the level of awareness of the space situation around the Korean Peninsula to a significant level through their own efforts. However, land-based space situation awareness that covers only over the Korean Peninsula reveals various limitations. First, omnidirectional search is impossible, and second, land-based radar requires high power for long-distance search, so there is an adverse effect on the human body due to high-power radio wave radiation. Third, since it is operated in a fixed position, it is less efficient than the radar operated at sea, so it is vulnerable to a surprise attack from the enemy. Contrary to the limitations of land-based SDA assets, sea-based SDA assets have the following advantages. First, it can be free from the burden of infrastructure construction, and second, it is not necessary to construct additional facilities for the radar system, so it is possible to reduce costs in connection with the facility construction problem. Third, the mobility of the detection coverage is guaranteed as it is not fixed in maritime usage. Such maritime-based SDA power can utilize the assets already possessed by the navy, and there are parts that need to be newly developed for better SDA in the future. Compared to the ground-based SDA system, which is difficult to properly build and requires a lot of budget, utilizing the 10 Aegis and KDDX ships that the Navy will have in the 2030s could be a very attractive option for the reinforcement of space power in Korea, where resources and time are limited.