“It arrives in 5 seconds.”
“Pair, pair, pair, pair, pair,” said Park Deok-jong, 48, a senior researcher in charge of deep space terrestrial antenna development, clapping five times. This is the time it takes for the ‘electromagnetic wave’ sent by the lunar probe ‘Danuri’ to reach the Yeoju deep space antenna. The speed of light (300,000 km/s), which is unrealistic in real life, is applied to everyday life here. Currently ‘Danuri’ is moving towards the moon about 1.55 million km from Earth.
On the 22nd, he visited the Deep Space Ground Antenna System in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do. This is the forefront of the space industry in Korea, communicating with Korea’s first lunar orbiter, ‘KPLO (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter)’. Senior Researcher Park, whom I met on site, is Korea’s best expert in this field, who has been responsible for antenna construction and communication implementation since the beginning of this project four years ago.
When I opened the door to the interior of the antenna and entered, a ‘stunning’ mechanical sound hit my ears. It’s hard to even hear someone talking next to you. The electronic monitor was constantly receiving text messages containing unknown information. Senior Researcher Park said, “You can see the information sent by Danuri coming in focused on the highest point in the middle of the screen.
Regarding the way Danuri sends information from space, he explained, “The value of the text is converted into digital characters in Danuri, created in the promised protocol format, and sent to the Earth in the form of an ‘electromagnetic wave’.” In order to exchange information well, it is important to know the exact location of Danuri. This is due to the nature of radio waves traveling in a straight line. For that reason, the first thing I do every day is find out where Danuri is. The ‘radio wave’ traveling through outer space can lose information if it is disturbed by solar noise or space debris. Here, it also acts as a command to request status information from Danuri, control satellite thrusters, and operate high-resolution cameras. Danuri, who accepted this mission, corrected the orbit towards the moon and took pictures of the moon and the earth and sent them.
The deep space antenna manufactured by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is the largest satellite antenna in Korea with a weight of 100 tons, a main reflector diameter of 35m, and a height of 42.7m. Assuming you put your cone to your ear, the bigger the size, the better you can hear the sound. The antenna is similar. This large diameter antenna can communicate with satellites 50 times larger than a geostationary satellite antenna. Of course, various electronic devices are installed to reduce noise and amplify sound in order to receive information intact, but the basic principle is the same.
Danuri, which departed from the US Space Force Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 5, is expected to enter the moon around December 17. The Advanced Researcher Park will conduct various missions and test runs here until the end of January . When this process is completed smoothly, it enters ‘normal operation’, which carries out missions such as searching for a landing site for a lunar probe headed for 2030 for a year while traveling in circular orbit that passes 100km above the North and South Poles. of the moon. It serves as a primer for placing the Taegeukgi on the surface of the moon. In addition, a separate service is being considered if NASA of the United States wants it. Through international cooperation, it is expected that joint research will be possible with advanced space agencies abroad, supporting not only the moon but also deep space missions.
Senior Researcher Park said, “If Danuri starts turning the moon stable, Korea will be able to seriously exchange information as a space powerhouse.” And I will return to my family with a great image,” he said with a bright smile.
Minkyu Jeon (jun.minkyu@joins.com)
