The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), since its establishment in 1989, has been the driving force behind aerospace research and development in Korea as the leading national R&D institute in this field.
KARI’s R&D areas include state-of-the-art aircraft development, satellite development and space launch vehicle development. KARI is also responsible for the quality certification of aircraft and space equipment, mandated by the government.
In the area of space technology, KARI successfully launched COMS (Communication, Oceanography and Meteorology Satellite) in June of 2010 and KARI will launch of KOMPSAT-5 (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-5) in 2011, and KOMPSAT-3 in 2012.
KARI will strive to continue in its ongoing mission to develop and use space technology for the benefit of humanity with future plans to expand its search for knowledge to the Moon, the Solar System and beyond.