Subject: Trip Report - Korean Aerospace Research
Institute, 29 June 94

Visit of the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
P.O. Box 113, Yusong, Daeduck Science Town
Taejon 305-600, Republic of Korea
Tel: +82-42-860-2114; Fax:+82-42-860-2004

Abstract
The Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) was visited on 29
June 1994 to discuss the extent of aerospace research being
carried out in the Republic of Korea. The major areas of
research and development activity at KARI were found to be
aircraft, aerospace, and satellite technologies. The institute
was established in Oct 89 by the Korean Aerospace Industry
Development Policy Commission to promote aerospace technology
and create a competitive aerospace market in Korea. At present,
the institute is in the process of building test facilities
specifically for the purpose of testing aircraft and satellites.
The first test facility scheduled for completion sometimes
within this year is the subsonic wind tunnel facility. It seems
that the institute will not have all the test facilities built
in next two or three years for full scale test capabilities. The
report discusses the extent of the current research and
development activity being carried out at KARI.

I. Introduction
To learn about newly established Korean research institutes
working specifically on aerospace research, Dr Tom Davis and I
visited the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), located
in Daeduck Science Town, Taejon, for an hour between 1400 and
1500 on the 29th of June, 94. The visit was arranged by Mr F.
Kenneth Crosher, science counselor of the US Embassy in Korea,
before we departed Japan. The purpose of the visit was to meet
key personnel at KARI and establish contacts in order to set up
international collaborative programs between KARI and my office,
the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD).
We were greeted by Dr Jai-Hak Hong, president of KARI; Dr Dong-
Whan Choi, director of Aircraft R&D Division; and Dr Jeong-Joo
Rhiu, director of Aerospace R&D Division. After the exchange of
business cards as it is common in most of the oriental countries
at the first meeting (Korea is no exception), Dr Davis and I
presented the AOARD programs to KARI personnel for 15 minutes or
so. Then it was followed by Dr Hong's short introductory talk
about the history, role and mission, and major research
activities of KARI. For the last 30 minutes of the visit, we
moved the meeting to the main conference hall and saw a 10
minute video which explained the role and operation of KARI.
After the video, Dr Choi and Dr Rhiu told us of their current
research activities. The nature of the discussion is explained
more in detail in this report.
Before we departed there, we were shown models of aircraft,
sounding rockets and satellites which are displayed at their
showcase hall, which is located at the entrance lobby of the
KARI headquarters building.

Points of contact at KARI are shown below:
Dr. Jai-Hak Hong, President
Tel: +82-42-860-2001/-2550; Fax: +82-42-860-2005/-2005

Dr. Dong-Whan Choi, Director, Aircraft R&D Division
Tel:: +82-42-860-2300; Fax: +82-42-860-2004

Dr. Jeong-Joo Rhiu, Director, Aerospace R&D Division
Tel: +82-42-860-2700; Fax:+82-42-860-2004

II. History and Organization
On 10 Oct 89, KARI was created, along with the Korean Research
Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISCO), as part of
the national development plan for establishing a strong
technology basis for the Republic of Korea. Both research
institutes were created as new subsidiaries to that of the
existing Korean Institute of Machinery and Metals (KIMM), which
was established in December, 1976. KARI was established as a
leading Korean research institute to promote advanced aerospace
research activities. KARI has a specific responsibility of
advancing the level of Korean aerospace research to the world
class and helping to create a very competitive aerospace market
place in Korea.
At the present time, KARI is headed by Dr Jai-Hak Hong, the
first person to be named as president of KARI. He is supported
by five technical division chiefs who have responsibilities of
managing aircraft R&D, aerospace R&D, satellite R&D, quality
assurance, and technical support. Dr Choi and Dr Rhiu, who
greeted us, are in charge of Aircraft R&D Division and Aerospace
R&D Division, respectively. As of today (in 94), KARI has a
total workforce of 180 people with 120 people in four research
divisions. Of 120 researchers, 56 are PhD holders. As far as
the budget is concerned, KARI's funding level has increased
every year and is expected to increase in Fiscal Year 1995 due
to the construction of about 20 test facilities which are
scheduled for completion by 1995 according to Dr Hong. In the
last four years, the actual budget figures were 4, 8, 11, and 35
million equivalent US dollars. The big increase from 11 to 35
million equivalent US dollars reflected the construction cost of
the wind tunnel building which houses a subsonic wind tunnel
facility designed to handle a maximum wind speed of 110 m/sec
for flow dynamic testing. In the master construction plan, two
more wind tunnel facilities and one satellite assembly testing
building are scheduled to be built by 1995; however, they are
waiting for government approvals.

III. Research and Development Activity
Aircraft, aerospace, and satellite technologies are main focus
areas of KARI's R&D activities. The research areas in aircraft
technology include aerodynamic, structural mechanics,
aeropropulsion, flight dynamics and control, and aircraft
system. In aerospace technology, space launcher, space
propulsion system, satellite bus, and space test are research
areas being investigated at KARI. In satellite technology, KARI
is performing mission analysis and developing core parts of a
satellite system, such as electrical power, telemetry, and
command/control subsystems, as well as setting up ground
tracking and control stations.

III-1. Aircraft Technology
The thrust of aerodynamic research is to perform theoretical
and computational flow analysis and compare the results with
wind tunnel experimental data. Currently, researchers are in the
process of coming up with plans for subsonic wind tunnel
experiments. They are waiting for completion of the mid-class
subsonic wind tunnel facility scheduled for operation sometimes
within this year. They use a 1/40 scale model of a mid-class
commuter airplane specifically designed to study the effect of
the wakefield flow pattern. The aim of their experiment is to
come up with an efficient fluid-dynamic computational technique
so that they can use it to design a low drag airfoil. In
structural mechanics, researchers are using the Aero 90'
Aircraft Structural Test machine for testing kinematics and
structural properties of aircraft. It is capable of handling a
weight of up to 20 tons for compression tests. The other type of
testing performed is the non-destructive ultrasound test which
is used to make indirect measurements of the damage of specific
aircraft components. For detailed analysis of structural failure
modes, researchers are developing computer codes, which make use
of the finite element technique.
In the aeropulposion area, KARI is aiming to establish in-
house technologies needed to develop gas turbine engines. An
extensive amount of efforts is invested in coming up with
computer simulation models to predict detailed flow patterns.
For testing, the laboratory is equipped with a 3-D laser Doppler
velocimetery, a turbine blade cascade wind tunnel test set up, a
100 lbf thrust gas turbine engine, and a spin & burst rotating
test machine. In the area of flight dynamics and control,
researchers are using R & D flight simulator and unmanned
airship to test various designs of auto-pilot systems equipped
with robust flight control mechanisms. The unmanned airship was
built last year for the 93' Expo held in Taejon to demonstrate
their accomplishments in flight dynamics and control research
areas.

III-2. Aerospace Technology
The Aerospace R&D division carries out research on development
and operations of sounding rockets and development and
integration of satellites and its related technologies. Active
research efforts are focused in Korean government national
projects involving the development of the KOREASAT satellite and
its launcher system as well as performing structural, thermal
control, and environmental tests for the KITSAT satellite. The
sounding rocket was built in 1993 to reach an altitude of 70-75
km with a payload capacity of 150 kg, of which 50 kg is
allocated specifically for the scientific purpose. The length
and weight of the rocket are 6.7 meters and 1.3 tons,
respectively. It is used to take data at ozone and ionosphere
layers over the Korean Peninsula.
In the area of space propulsion research, KARI is responsible
for the development of solid and liquid apogee kick motors for
placing a satellite in geostationary orbit and providing the
sufficient thrust for orbit control. For the sounding rocket,
the thrust of solid rocket motors can handle a weight of 10 tons
for liftoff.
In the area of developing Korean satellites, KARI is placing a
great deal of efforts in the design of the satellite bus system.
They are placing special care for designs of structure and
attitude control subsystems in order to assure the proper
operation of the satellite in the space environment. For
testing, the Space Test group is formed specifically to conduct
integration, assembly, and environmental tests of satellites for
independent checks. Some of the major test equipment used for
space quality testing consist of the thermal vacuum test
chamber, the satellite vibration test device, and the satellite
physical properties measurement device. Also, the Assembly,
Integration, and Test Center will be available in the future to
conduct development and qualification tests on future scientific
and communication satellites.

III.3 Quality Assurance
To ensure the safety and reliability of products coming out of
KARI, KARI is developing the quality evaluation procedures and
establishing the different types of certification.
As delegated under the Aeronautics and Space Industry
Development Promotion Act of the Republic of Korea, KARI is the
authorized inspection agency, responsible for issuing the
Production Certificate for the performance and quality
inspection of aircraft, spacecraft, launchers and its related
products in Korea. Another certificate, as delegated under the
Aviation Act, is the Type and Airworthiness Certificate.
The technical support to the industry is provided by the
quality assurance group. The support includes international
cooperation, test and evaluation and education and training.
Following are names of international organizations having signed
the Memorandum of Understanding with KARI as of 1993.

USA: - McDonnell Douglas Co.
- General Dynamic Co.
Russia: - Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute
- Central Institute of Aviation Motors
- GLAVKOSMOS Co.
France: - Centre National D'studes Spatiales
- Arianspace Co.
England: - British Aerospace Co.
Israel: - Israel Aerospace Industry
China: - Nanjing Aeronautical Institute

IV. Summary
At present, the Korean aerospace industry is far behind that
of the US and it takes at least a decade or more to catch up to
the level of the current US aerospace technology.
It has been only four years that Korea has taken an active
role in establishing the strong aerospace market by creating the
Korean Aerospace Research Institute. KARI has done a good job in
last four years just to initiate the whole process of setting up
the foundation for the future of the Korean aerospace market. I
would expect they need two or three more years before they could
complete the whole process.
To show the progress of establishing the Korean aerospace
industry, KARI has exhibited a sounding rocket and the UFO type
unmanned airship during the EXPO '93, held in Taejon last year.
At present, KARI is participating in KOREASAT and KITSAT
projects to develop essential aerospace technologies needed to
catch up the US and Japan in order to join the satellite
communications community. In the near future, I would expect
KARI's aircraft technology to advance at much faster rate once
the subsonic wind tunnel facility becomes fully operational this
year.

End