Nara Space Technology, a small satellite solutions company, has been selected to carry out a project titled “Development and demonstration of a space semiconductor verification payload and design services for a demonstration nanosatellite,” the company said on Jan. 19. The project is part of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Global Top space aerospace semiconductor strategic research group programme led by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).

The project aims to verify the reliability of domestically made space semiconductors and their adaptability to the space environment in actual space.

A total of 7 domestically made semiconductors will be installed on a 6U-class nanosatellite and operated for an extended period in extreme space environments such as radiation, thermal vacuum and vibration. The collected data will be used to advance semiconductor reliability models and to expand future applications to satellite systems at home and abroad.

Nara Space will develop both a payload capable of verifying 7 types of domestically made space semiconductors and a satellite platform that can carry the payload and verify it in the actual space environment. It then plans to proceed through launch and orbital insertion, collect data in the space environment and continue through semiconductor reliability verification.

Lee Jeong-gyu (이정규), executive director in charge of the project at Nara Space, said, “Based on the satellite platform systems of the Observer-1A and GyeonggiSat-1A, whose reliability has been proven, this task is very meaningful in that it allows space semiconductor devices to be verified in a real environment.” He said, “This project is the result of a national research institution once again recognising Nara Space’s technology and operational capabilities, and we will continue to expand the foundation so that semiconductor devices demonstrated in space can establish themselves as key components in the global market.”