한국항공우주연구원

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI, President Paik Hong-yul) announced that it has chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. as the preferred negotiation partner for the selection of the launch service provider (LSP) for the Korea multi-purpose satellite-3(KOMPSAT-3) which is under development.

KARI received valid bidding proposals from Eurockot (a joint company of Germany and Russia) and Mitsubishi (Japan) through an international open bidding process. After reviewing the proposals, Mitsubishi was selected as the preferred bidder having acquired the highest score.

If the results of the preferred negotiation are satisfactory, KARI plans to sign a contract with Mitsubishi for the KOMPSAT-3 launch service.

KOMPSAT-3, an upgrade of KOMPSAT-2 which was launched in 2006, is a high-resolution earth observation satellite aimed to provide satellite imagery to meet the demands of the nation as well as the commercial market.