The Launch Site Lease
While negotiations with North Korea were underway, Starlink notified the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) that the development of the AESA Radar-based CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) by Starlink Defense had been completed. Colonel Jang Woo-chul, who had previously served in the Ministry of National Defense, had been promoted and transferred to DAPA earlier that year. Upon hearing that Starlink Defense had successfully localized the CIWS—a long-standing headache for the military—President Park In-tak requested a test evaluation, and Brigadier General Jang Woo-chul agreed to meet him at the DAPA office.
President Park, knowing that a test evaluation was a prerequisite for supplying the Navy, arrived at the Brigadier General’s office with the technical data for the Korean-style Goalkeeper in high spirits.
"President Park! It’s been a while. How have you been?"
"Congratulations on your promotion to Brigadier General. And congratulations on your new post here at DAPA after leaving the Ministry of National Defense."
"Hahaha. I think I achieved good results thanks to the help of those around me. I heard that Starlink Defense has developed the Goalkeeper, a close-in weapon system for naval vessels. That is truly impressive."
"Since we already had the AESA Radar we developed previously, the development process wasn't particularly difficult."
"It feels like a thorn has been pulled from my side now that Starlink Defense has succeeded in developing the Korean-style Goalkeeper."
"I assume it's because the imported Goalkeeper systems were discontinued?"
"Yes, exactly. As you know, the only CIWS options were the Goalkeeper and the Phalanx, and with the Goalkeeper discontinued, the price of the Phalanx has doubled. Furthermore, maintenance for the Goalkeeper units already supplied to the Navy has become impossible. Starlink Defense is a huge help to us."
"Hahaha. Our Korean-style Goalkeeper hasn't passed the test evaluation yet."
"Hasn't every weapon Starlink developed succeeded without a single failure? I am certain it will pass this time as well. We are currently discussing having the Joint Chiefs of Staff lead the test evaluation, with the Navy overseeing the execution."
"You've already started discussions?"
"Of course. The Ministry of National Defense and DAPA are the ones feeling the pressure, so we have to hurry. More importantly, I have two pieces of good news for Starlink Defense."
"What might those be...?"
"We have decided to increase the introduction quantity of the swarm-type Switchblade we developed previously. Both the Army and the Navy have submitted purchase requests, and the Navy, in particular, wants a large quantity. They asked for 5,000 units."
"5,000 units for the Navy?"
"They plan to install the Switchblade on naval vessels and also operate them from maritime patrol aircraft."
"Ah! They intend to use the sonobuoy launch mechanism on the patrol aircraft."
"Yes. They plan to operate the Switchblade alongside their existing armaments."
"I'm glad it helps strengthen the Navy's capabilities."
"And the second piece of news is that the United States has requested to purchase Starlink Defense's unmanned underwater vehicles. I don't know how they found out about their existence, but a letter of intent to purchase them via FMS (Foreign Military Sales) has arrived."
"The unmanned underwater vehicle is classified as a 'black' project. How did the U.S. find out about it?"
"I don't know the details myself... but an order came down from the Blue House to approve it."
President Park In-tak was delighted by the unexpected surge in revenue and continued his questions.
"How many are they asking to purchase?"
"Hahaha. They want a total of 50 units. However, there is a condition: we must modify the weapon software so that the U.S. can use their own torpedoes with the unmanned underwater vehicles."
"I came here to discuss the test evaluation schedule for the Korean-style Goalkeeper, but Brigadier General Jang Woo-chul keeps giving me such good news."
"If Starlink Defense grows, DAPA also has an easier time. Thanks to Starlink Defense, the 'company-led development' system was established, wasn't it? I will notify you as soon as the test evaluation schedule for the Korean-style Goalkeeper is finalized."
President Park In-tak chatted with Brigadier General Jang, feeling pleased about the increase in Starlink's revenue.
Taesik, having received a visit from President Ryu Kwang-soo, stopped what he was doing and stood up to greet him. During the previous government briefing for the construction of the 3-axis system, there had been talk about South Korea alone complying with the ROK-U.S. missile guidelines. Consequently, President Ryu had begun the process of selecting a site for an overseas launch facility and had come to see Taesik with the results of his review.
"CEO, the review results for the rocket launch site are in."
"That came out faster than I thought. Shall we take a look?"
"For now, renting an existing launch site is much cheaper than purchasing an overseas site, so we focused our review on sites that are available for lease."
"Why...? Don't we have enough room in the budget?"
"There is a possibility that the ROK-U.S. missile guidelines will be lifted someday, so is there a need to invest money abroad?"
"So, President Ryu, you want to build a launch site domestically."
"Yes. Just as the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) built a launch site in Naro, I want to build one on an island in the southwest."
"Understood. I will follow your lead. Where are the launch sites available for lease?"
"We have narrowed it down to two final candidates. One is the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil, and the other is the Andøya Space Center in Norway."
"Isn't Brazil's site for military use?"
"That's correct. Recently, the Brazilian government expressed their intention to open Alcântara, which is used for military purposes, to commercial use. Alcântara has a launch azimuth of 107 degrees, making it easy to reach space orbits and consuming less fuel. Also, there is almost no maritime or air traffic, so safety issues can be minimized."
"In terms of location, Alcântara seems better. Isn't Andøya in Norway also frequently used by NASA?"
"Yes. It is a place where many research rockets are launched, mainly for small satellites. Personally, I would like to select Alcântara as the launch site for the future. The Brazilian government also wants to grow Alcântara into a launch site comparable to the Kourou spaceport in South America, so they are very friendly toward us. They are continuously carrying out road and port construction to access the Alcântara base, so it has more advantages than Andøya."
"Then let's go with Alcântara. And how is the launch vehicle preparation coming along?"
"With the help of Starlink Aviation, we are currently producing a 3-stage rocket, and we are thinking of increasing it to 4 stages to prepare for the future."
"What is the payload capacity of the one currently being produced?"
"As it is the first launch vehicle, it is 800kg, but if it is modified to 3 stages, it can be increased to a maximum of 2.7 tons."
"Then we can only launch one military satellite."
"No. The military satellite requested by DAPA does not integrate the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) function and the EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infrared) camera function, but mounts them separately, so there is some leeway in weight. Therefore, we plan to mount small satellites made for testing purposes as well. DAPA is still reviewing the exact quantity, but they seem likely to request the development of 4 final SAR satellites and 1 EO/IR satellite."
"Then are you thinking of using the remaining weight capacity to launch our Starlink small satellites?"
"Since the government said they would launch small satellites to cover the surveillance and reconnaissance gap after launching the 5 satellites, I plan to launch experimental small SAR satellites."
"If it's a small class, what is the resolution?"
"Unofficially, the government seems to want meter-level resolution, but I think we can get at least 60cm-level resolution."
"That's much lower resolution than the military satellite we'll be launching next year."
"That's true, but I am discussing with CEO Cha Young-jin of Deepmind ways to increase resolution through image stacking. The image stacking technology for EO/IR has already been developed, and while development is currently delayed due to a lack of SAR satellite photos, I received an answer that it would be possible if we secure many video photos from the experimental small SAR satellite next year."
"Image stacking technology is a field I'm not familiar with, so it's new to me."
"CEO Cha says it's possible through AI programs and noise removal, but I don't know the details myself."
"If we put the military satellite into orbit next year, the income coming from the National Intelligence Service will decrease."
"It's a shame, but it can't be helped. Instead, they are interfering with the selection of the ground control station location for this 3-axis system satellite project."
"It's a military satellite, so why is the NIS interfering?"
"I think they want to share the acquired information with the military."
"Isn't the ground control station for the satellite produced by KARI also jointly managed by the NIS?"
"Since the resolution of the military satellite's image information is superior, they are being greedy. The military hopes to install the ground control station at a military base, but the NIS wants to do it at a third location."
"We just have to build it at the location determined by the government, so ignore them."
"Understood. Sometimes the money paid as special activity funds by the NIS disappears, so the ground control station staff will be very disappointed."
While the two were talking, Miso had informed Taesik via phone that President Park In-tak had arrived, so Taesik told her to let President Park in. President Park walked into the office with a beaming smile.
"President Park. Is there something good? Why are you coming in with such a wide smile?"
"I just came from DAPA, and it looks like Starlink Defense's revenue is going to increase again."
"Did a request for additional Switchblade purchases come in?"
"Hahaha. In addition to the Switchblade, we received a request for additional sales of unmanned underwater vehicles."
"Yes...? Didn't the Korean government decide to increase the quantity sequentially because of a lack of budget?"
"This time, it's not the Republic of Korea, but the United States. They say the order quantity is a whopping 50 units."
"How did the U.S. find out about the existence of the unmanned underwater vehicle?"
"DAPA also said they don't know how they found out about the existence of the unmanned underwater vehicle, which was classified as a 'black' project, but looking at the mention of the Blue House, it seems there was a deal between the two governments."
"Hmm... Well, if the government says they will approve it, it's not a big problem, but it's not something to be purely happy about. By the way, how did you decide to handle the Korean-style Goalkeeper test evaluation?"
"Fortunately, the Navy agreed to be cooperative, and DAPA also promised to help. It seems the test evaluation will be possible within a month."
"The progress is faster than I thought. Are you planning to use an existing ship for the test evaluation?"
"No. It's difficult to modify existing ships, so this time, too, we plan to install the Korean-style Goalkeeper on a barge to proceed."
"Please take responsibility and proceed with this test evaluation, President Park."
"Understood, CEO. And I came to see you because I have a suggestion for you."
"What is it? I get nervous when you suddenly say you have a suggestion, President Park."
"It's about the 3-axis system that the government held a briefing for last time. It is expected that competitors will bid at a low price for the selection of the Agency for Defense Development's prototype manufacturer, so I think we should also proceed with a low-price bid."
"If it's a competitor to Starlink Defense, isn't it KIG? Why are they coming in with a low-price bid?"
"Since we have many weapon systems that we are putting into service through our own research investment, it seems they have a sense of crisis. To bring guided weapons to our side, we need to engage in aggressive bidding competition."
Taesik pondered President Park In-tak's words about making a low-price bid to suppress KIG Nex1.
"Hmm... How is the development status of the weapons that Starlink Defense is currently developing?"