Chapter 242: It’s Time to Run

Dojin Frontier Headquarters - Main Conference Room

Rain was falling outside the window, but inside the conference room, the air was crisp, mingling with the breeze from the air conditioner.

On the screen, the trajectory of the Polar Orbiter circling the Moon’s polar region was repeatedly replayed as a thin green line.

As I took my seat,

Park Cheol-jin stood up and carefully opened a blue envelope sealed with a sticker.

“This is a letter of appreciation sent by NASA. I’ll read the key parts.”

Park Cheol-jin took out the contents of the envelope and began to read the written sentences.

[Dojin Frontier has demonstrated unprecedented quality and schedule adherence in the Polar Orbiter mission. The rapid navigation reconfiguration during the LOI emergency, antenna blending demonstration, and deep space navigation verification have significantly reduced the risks for future Artemis-class missions. We express our deepest gratitude.]

Soft applause spread through the conference room.

As the corners of my mouth turned up,

Park Cheol-jin turned the page.

“And… they’ve also sent a proposal for a follow-up mission.”

At the mention of a follow-up mission proposal, low gasps of surprise erupted from those around me.

I, too, filled with anticipation, urged Park Cheol-jin.

“Read it quickly.”

“Yes.”

Park Cheol-jin nodded and continued reading the additional proposal from NASA.

[Follow-Up Mission Proposal]

Mission Name: LPRE + CLNB Tech Demo

“It seems too abbreviated. What exactly is the mission?”

“LPRE stands for Lunar Polar Relay Extension… So, based on this orbiter mission, it’s a reinforcement mission to increase the communication visibility of the Moon’s South Pole-North Pole section from 82% to 95%.”

“Then what’s CLNB?”

“Cislunar Navigation Beacon, it’s a demonstration mission for a standard signal (laser/Ka-band hybrid) to improve navigation accuracy between Earth and the Moon. There’s also a proposal to bundle these two missions in a ride-share format.”

Finally understanding the mission, I nodded.

“Then what about the orbital design?”

“According to the draft, using Selene Kick Stage Version B, a navigation beacon will be placed near the L2 halo orbit, and Polar Orbiter-2 will be inserted into a 90 x 90 km synchronous polar orbit.”

The duration is 18 months.

The payload budget seems undecided.

“For now, quote the highest price possible. Ensure a margin of at least $500 million.”

“NASA has also proposed additional negotiations within 30 days, so we’ll prepare and submit our requests by then.”

“And make sure our technology for Block-II thermal cycle tuning and flare masks is explicitly included as the standard.”

It was the surest way to increase dependence on our technology.

At that moment, Kim Se-bin made an additional suggestion.

“What about pursuing collaborations with other space agencies besides NASA?”

With the successful launch of multiple Luna Link satellites and the clean completion of the NASA project,

there was almost no distrust of our technology.

It was a suggestion to leverage this timing to secure more contracts.

“Judging by your expression, it seems like you’ve already received some proposals. Show me.”

Kim Se-bin plugged the USB into the computer,

and organized data appeared on the screen.

There were organized proposal tracks from major space agencies worldwide, including ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and MBRSC (Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre).

ESA: Argonaut lander relay reinforcement + PROSPECT resource exploration experiment communication support
JAXA: LUPEX polar rover remote operation link coordination, joint development of low-cost polar relay microsatellites
ISRO: Differential navigation beacon demonstration (integration with next-generation Chandrayaan series)
CSA: Joint standardization of low-latency remote operation link protocols
MBRSC (UAE): Communication partnership for Antarctic Permanent Shadow Region (PSR) explorer

I was slightly surprised by the number of proposals.

“Are all of these agencies wanting to collaborate with us?”

“Nothing is confirmed yet, but the response has been very positive.”

“What specifically do you mean by positive?”

“The biggest factor was our mission completion record with NASA. Especially…”

Kim Se-bin pointed to the list with a laser pointer and added an explanation.

“Agencies like ESA and CSA were particularly positive about this part.”

Successful LOI emergency response

Real-time navigation reconfiguration, EKF convergence time under 14 seconds

Flare mask & thermal cycle tuning

Outstanding thermal stability for long-duration missions

Minimized communication loss segments

Shared antenna blending demonstration data

Park Cheol-jin added,

“The reusability of the Leviathan propulsion system was also highly praised. Especially JAXA and ISRO showed high interest.”

Kim Se-bin continued,

“All the agencies proposing this time are more inclined to commission us rather than develop their own launch vehicles due to budget issues, as our schedule and cost predictions are more reliable.”

“Definitely, outsourcing to us is at least 30% cheaper than developing their own.”

The reusable launch vehicle alone could be used more than five times.

With effort, it could even exceed that.

In terms of cost, it was incomparable to developing their own.

However, that didn’t mean we could accept all requests without hesitation.

“What about data and technology provision conditions?”

“That part needs further discussion, but so far, it’s at the level of ‘providing links for payload operation’ and ‘joint navigation beacon demonstration.’”

The proposals did not require core technology,

but rather requested that our thermal control technology and navigation blending algorithms be included in the official protocol.

Frankly…

the conditions were much better than expected.

Instead of handing over core technology, it ensured we remained essential.

“The international joint development project is paying off here as well.”

Many of the agencies requesting this time held stakes in Luna Link.

Thanks to that, they could make such proposals without hesitation.

I stood up and slowly looked around the conference room.

“Alright, let’s summarize this.”

Everyone’s attention turned to me.

“Accept NASA’s LPRE+CLNB mission, but ensure the following conditions are explicitly included during negotiations.”

First. Officially codify Block-II thermal cycle tuning and flare masks as the standard.

Second. Jointly use navigation algorithm parameters and logs, but clearly state that the kernel remains our property.

Third. Limit Leviathan recovery slots to five per quarter, prioritizing quality assurance.

“And…”

After a brief pause, I turned to Kim Se-bin.

“Also pursue projects with the five agencies that proposed to us, including ESA and JAXA, but set conditions centered around internalizing our technology.”

“Yes, Representative.”

“Integrate everything—ESA’s PROSPECT and Argonaut lander communication, JAXA’s LUPEX rover and microsatellites, ISRO’s navigation beacon, CSA’s low-latency remote operation protocol, and UAE’s PSR communication—as part of a space infrastructure service platform.”

Taking a breath, I continued.

“Going forward, we won’t just sell rocket launch services, but the entire technology stack.”

The conference room fell silent.

“We’ve already proven our capabilities through Luna Link, AGE, Leviathan, and now the Orbiter. Now it’s time for us to gain the strength to venture into space on our own.”

Park Cheol-jin responded to my words.

“…You mean the Moon isn’t the end, sir.”

I nodded.

“Earth’s resources are limited, and someday we’ll need to develop new celestial bodies. It could be in 10 years or 100 years. But when that moment comes, we must remain a company with core technologies.”

“Developing new planets like Mars… is that what you’re saying?”

Kim Se-bin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I know it’s difficult right now, but we need to prepare measures to ensure technological independence across the space industry with that future in mind.”

Collaboration is possible.

But the platform’s leadership must remain firmly in our hands… no, in my hands.

“Understood.”

Kim Se-bin, initially startled, now had a determined look in her eyes.

The grand goal I presented seemed to ignite her resolve.

Chilbong, who had been silent until now, cautiously spoke up.

“Representative, to develop new celestial bodies, we’ll definitely need robots that can replace humans, right?”

“Yes, even if we somehow reach a star like Mars, there will be many constraints for humans to go there directly from the start.”

Thus, developing humanoid robots was essential.

And for those robots to move independently, one technology had to be developed first.

That is, full autonomous driving.

I turned my gaze to the front of the conference room.

“Speaking of which, how far along is the autonomous driving technology development?”

After the successful launch of Leviathan,

over 100 Luna Link satellites were encircling low Earth orbit,

and the Black Robin 1 chipset with 500 TOPS computing power, along with its beta version of Luna, was already in use.

Even the EV-Nova was already running on the roads.

The minimum infrastructure for autonomous driving was in place.

So now, it was time to run.

Without anyone in the driver’s seat.