Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) will be launched into space in 2030 as part of a government program to validate its performance in extreme environments. As semiconductor competition expands beyond computational performance into space semiconductors—a core component for space data centers projected to reach $39 billion (approximately 57.5 trillion won) by 2035—the urgency to secure new technologies like MRAM that combine both performance and durability has intensified.
"We plan to launch seven types of domestically developed space semiconductors aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2030, including MRAM that maintains data integrity even when exposed to radiation, DB HiTek's CMOS image sensors, and ETRI's compound semiconductors for communications and imaging," Kwon Yong-hwan, Director of the Space and Aerospace Semiconductor Strategic Research Division at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), said on January 16. "We aim to validate their performance in space and also secure foundry capabilities."
"As SpaceX and other private sector players have reduced satellite launch costs from 100 billion won to tens of billions of won, the space semiconductor market for satellite payloads is now opening in earnest," Kwon warned. "Korea has no domestic production base for space semiconductors and must rely entirely on imports."
Major countries are indeed pursuing plans to build data centers in space, where there are no spatial constraints and cryogenic temperatures solve heat dissipation problems. These include Google's "Suncatcher Project" and China's "Three-Body Computing Satellite Constellation." Competition to build satellite networks linking thousands of satellites is also intensifying, following SpaceX's Starlink.
Space semiconductors require complex performance characteristics including communications and power efficiency, radiation resistance to withstand intense cosmic radiation, durability in extreme environments such as cryogenic temperatures, and ultra-low power consumption to operate on satellites' limited power supplies.
In response, the government invested 100 billion won last year to establish the Space Semiconductor Strategic Research Division led by ETRI, bringing together various industry, academic, and research participants to support space semiconductor development.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix (000660.KS) are also cooperating with the government by loading their DRAM chips for performance verification on "K-RadCube," a Korean payload aboard the U.S. Artemis 2 mission launched earlier this month. Although K-RadCube failed to establish normal communications, it obtained relevant data while passing through the Van Allen radiation belts. Both companies plan to use this data to develop radiation-resistant semiconductors. Verification experiments for space semiconductors, including those from both companies, continue through launches of Korea's Nuri rocket.
