Cosmo Bee

“Propulsion systems are used in every type of space technology, including satellites, space stations and spacecraft. My dream is to build better propulsion systems, accelerate space development and help people reach space sooner.” Cosmo Bee CEO Dongha Park recently shared this vision with The Bell. “Thrusters are like transportation systems that enable movement through space,” he said. “In the long term, I want to develop satellites that can supply chemical propellant or electrical energy, like refueling a satellite when it runs out of fuel and reaches the end of its service life.”

 

Refueling satellites, often described as “gas stations in space,” supply satellites with propellant or electrical energy to extend their lifetimes. Cosmo Bee develops propulsion systems. After building thrusters for microsatellites, small satellites and large satellites, Park plans to use the company’s technology to develop refueling systems. His long-term goal is to manufacture satellites and operate an in-space refueling business.

 

 

◇ Founded to Localize Propulsion Systems; Hall Thruster to Fly on K-HERO CubeSat in 2025

 

Park studied mechanical engineering at Korea University and earned a master’s degree in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering from KAIST. He was pursuing a doctorate in the same field at the time of publication. After graduating from university, he worked as a research assistant at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), where he recognized the importance of propulsion systems. Seeing actual satellites made him wish someone in Korea would develop such systems, leading him to seek out Professor Wonho Choe, who was conducting related research at KAIST.

 

University research had limitations, particularly insufficient funding. More importantly, no Korean company specialized in electric-propulsion systems. In 2023, Park founded Cosmo Bee at age 26. “Electric propulsion will clearly be essential, but KAIST was the only place in Korea conducting propulsion-system research,” Park said. “I believed Korea could fall far behind other countries unless we founded a company and accelerated development and commercialization.”

 

Park said electric Hall thrusters would be essential to future space businesses. Electric propulsion is far more efficient than chemical propulsion. “For a 100 kg satellite, chemical propellant can account for 60 kg,” he said. “For the same mission, an electric-propulsion system may require only about 10 kg, greatly improving efficiency.” Thrusters are especially valuable for satellite constellations, which have become a major space-industry trend. SpaceX’s Starlink is a leading example. On April 24, Korea also successfully launched NEONSAT-1, the first microsatellite in a constellation developed by KAIST. Such constellations use groups of microsatellites for communications, Earth observation and other missions. Thrusters are required to keep the satellites in the same orbit.

 

“Most Korean satellite operators currently purchase electric thrusters from Europe,” Park said. “The number of satellites launched by Korean companies and institutions is expected to rise sharply from 2027, increasing demand for Cosmo Bee’s Hall thrusters.” Hall thrusters can also improve the resolution of Earth-observation microsatellites. “The limited size and weight of small satellites restrict camera diameter, creating a physical limit on resolution,” Park said. “Resolution can be improved without increasing satellite mass by lowering the orbit and imaging Earth from closer range.” More operators are therefore seeking to place satellites in very low Earth orbit. Electric-propulsion systems are essential for maintaining altitude in these orbits.

 

Cosmo Bee had completed the engineering model of its microsatellite Hall thruster, with only subsystems such as the propellant supply system and power processing unit remaining under development. Its Hall thruster was scheduled to fly on the K-HERO CubeSat aboard Nuri’s fourth launch in the second half of 2025. Commercialization was targeted for 2026. “In the space market, whether technology has survived and operated in space matters more than simply presenting its expected performance,” Park said. “After completing flight-model-grade components, we plan to finish validation through the K-HERO CubeSat in 2026 and then launch our microsatellite thruster commercially.” Park also planned to begin developing a Hall thruster for small satellites in 2024. “We plan to develop it through a national research project,” he said. “If development begins now, an actual launch will likely take place around 2030.”

 

◇ Interested in Space Since Middle School; Sought Out a Hall-Thruster Lab at KAIST

 

Born in 1997, Park was a doctoral student in KAIST’s Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering. His interest in space began during his first year of middle school, when StarCraft’s story of humanity fighting and exploring among alien civilizations captured his imagination. A water-rocket competition during his second year of middle school inspired him to study rockets. After placing second in his school competition, he advanced to the city competition and began studying science. In his third year, he represented his school at a provincial science competition.

 

In high school, Park dreamed of becoming a space-launch-vehicle researcher and later entered Korea University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. He formed a university rocket club with other students interested in rockets. This experience led to a research-assistant position at KARI in 2020. “I worked in the Space Environment Test Division, where actual satellites were all around me,” Park said. “That was when I learned about propulsion systems. Launch vehicles were fascinating, but I decided I should become someone who develops propulsion systems in Korea.”

 

He found Professor Wonho Choe, who led Korea’s only laboratory developing propulsion systems, and devoted himself to thruster research while completing a master’s degree in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering at KAIST. An opportunity arose in 2022, when the team was selected for the Basic Satellite category of KARI’s 6th CubeSat Competition. This gave the researchers an opportunity to validate their thruster in space. The experience created a shared commitment to commercializing satellite electric-propulsion technology, leading them to establish Cosmo Bee in 2023.

 

Cosmo Bee began with Park and four other researchers. Park expressed pride that the team consisted entirely of Hall-thruster enthusiasts. “Space is not an easy field to approach purely as a business,” he said. “We came together because we want to advance Korea’s space industry, understand the importance of Hall thrusters and genuinely want to study them. That gives our team strong synergy.”

 

 

 

Original article :  Dongha Park: “I Hope Cosmo Bee Brings Humanity Closer to Space”