SK Hynix DRAM and NAND flash are now operating in orbit, launched aboard Korea's Nuri space vehicle on Oct. 7 as the payload of Nara Space Technology's E3T Unit 2 verification satellite. The mission marks the start of a large-scale project to confirm the reliability of domestic semiconductors and space components directly in the space environment.

The satellite lifted off at 12:25 p.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Nuri's fifth launch. It separated from the launch vehicle into orbit roughly 17 minutes after liftoff. About one hour and 57 minutes later, E3T Unit 2 exchanged its first two-way communication with the ground station at Nara Space's headquarters satellite control center.

Nara Space announced the successful contact on Oct. 8. Engineers are now checking the satellite's basic status and running initial operational procedures.

Why test memory chips in orbit?

The core purpose of the mission is performance verification of space semiconductors and electronic devices built with domestic Korean technology. E3T Unit 2, manufactured in a 12-unit form factor and weighing 18.08 kg, carries SK Hynix's DRAM and NAND flash as its key payloads.

The test will determine whether Korean memory chips operate normally in an environment defined by extreme temperature swings and radiation — conditions that terrestrial qualification cannot fully replicate. Results from the mission are expected to serve as foundational data for the future entry of domestic components into the space industry supply chain.

What other domestic hardware is aboard?

Beyond semiconductors, the satellite will collect and transmit data from several Korean-developed systems in actual orbit:

• InCera Solution's high-speed precision adjustment mirror
• Momentum Space's reaction wheel
• KAIST's attitude determination and system module
• CosmoB's hollow cathode for electric thrusters
• Intergravity Technologies' avionics equipment

A second data point for the platform

This is not Nara Space's first in-orbit qualification campaign. The company launched E3T Unit 1 on Nuri's fourth flight in November last year and has operated it for 11 months. With Unit 2 now settled in orbit, Nara Space has demonstrated twice that its satellite platform can reliably host space environment verification for devices and components.

Park Jae-pil, CEO of Nara Space, said: "By successfully securing the operational foundation up to E3T Unit 2, we have confirmed a stable platform for space environment verification." He added that the company will continuously accumulate these capabilities as a foundation for growth of the domestic space device and component industry, in line with the global "new space" trend.

The verification data from this mission will feed directly into Korea's push to qualify homegrown semiconductors and components for space applications, potentially opening a new market segment for SK Hynix memory beyond terrestrial data centers as satellite constellations scale worldwide.