The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) on Sept. 15 said it will halve the period for devising a basic plan on preparing for space risks from 10 to five years. Shown is KASA headquarters in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. (Sacheon City Hall)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) has halved the period for devising a basic plan on preparing for space risks from 10 to five years.

KASA on Sept. 15 announced that a partial amendment to the Space Development Promotion Act containing the change took effect.

The revision was made in response to changes in the space environment, including the rising frequency of satellite launches and expansion of space activity by the private sector.

Before, the requirement was to release a basic plan every decade. But calls to cut the policy response cycle persisted due to factors like the growing risk of collision caused by the rising number of satellites in low Earth orbit and changes in the space environment resulting from solar activity.

The amendment requires a new basic plan every five years, with the revised cycle to retroactively apply to those devised prior to the revision.

KASA plans to make policy toward space risk response more quickly and systematically by raising space situational awareness capacity, streamlining risk forecasting and early warning systems, and forming cooperative frameworks with relevant organizations in Korea and abroad.

"Space risks are directly linked to public safety and the protection of national space assets," KASA Administrator Oh Taeseog said. "With this legal amendment as an opportunity, we will keep strengthening our policy framework to respond more quickly and flexibly to rapidly changing conditions in space."

aisylu@korea.kr