Hanwha Aerospace begins final assembly of a reusable-launcher demonstrator as Aerotech 2026 opens in Changwon

Hanwha Aerospace said on September 30, 2026 that it has started final assembly of a reusable-technology demonstrator developed with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and domestic suppliers including Bitzro Nextec and Hanyang Engineering. The 12.2-metre, 1.5-metre-diameter vehicle uses a single throttleable dual-combustion-cycle turbopump engine and is to fly in 2028: a vertical take-off, a climb to about 500 metres in roughly 90 seconds, and a vertical landing at a designated pad, verifying thrust control, attitude control, and guidance for first-stage reuse on the next-generation launch vehicle planned for the 2030s. Hyundai Rotem exhibited hypersonic propulsion test facilities and space-environment simulation chambers at Aerotech 2026, which runs September 30 to October 2 at the Changwon Convention Center with 179 companies in 317 booths.