Space
China detecting illegal border crossings with satellite
Aug 26th
China is using a high-resolution earth observation satellite to detect illegal border crossings from the DPRK, Chinese state media reported on Monday.
The Gaofen-1 satellite has been used to discover “about 10″ such crossings both on the China-DPRK border and in the Xinjiang Uygur region of northwest China, said China Daily reported, quoting the China National Space Administration.
The satellite has also been used to spot poppy plantations in Heilongjiang and Hebei provinces, marijuana growing in Jilin province and suspected oil smuggling off the coast of Fujian province.
Gaofen-1 was launched in April 2013 and is capable of taking images with 2-meter resolution, according to published specifications. More >
A new look at North Korea
Feb 25th
A 2007 image from NASA shows the Korean peninsula at night (NASA)
Most people who read this blog will be familiar with the image of the two Koreas at nighttime by a NASA satellite
On January 30, 2014, an astronaut on the International Space Station used a Nikon D3S camera to capture a new image of the Korean peninsula at 10:16 pm — one that’s even more dramatic than the monochrome NASA satellite image of old.
As NASA says, “The darkened land appears as if it were a patch of water joining the Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan. Its capital city, More >
Minju Joson criticizes U.S. spy satellite launch
Sep 16th
North Korea’s Minju Joson newspaper on Saturday criticized the recent launch of a new spy satellite by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, according to a report on the state-run Korea Central News Agency.
The classified satellite, called NROL-65, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on August 28 into an orbit that is used by spy satellites.
Not much is known about the satellite, but it’s thought to be the latest addition to the Keyhole constellation of reconnaissance satellites. As such, it will likely strengthen the ability of the U.S. intelligence community to look into North Korea.
Thus, the Minju Joson isn’t More >
State Space Development Bureau established
Apr 2nd
Signaling that it intends to pursue space exploration and the launch of more satellites, the DPRK’s parliament on Monday voted to establish a State Space Development Bureau.
The Supreme People’s Assembly on Monday also voted into effect a law on space development, reported KCNA without detailing the law.
The news was reported by KCNA but there were few details on the bureau or who would head it. The Korean Committee of Space Technology had previously been the top body on space development and whether it will continue was also not clear.
The decision of the SPA was reported in brief form by the state-run news More >
DPRK registers satellite with UN
Feb 27th
The DPRK has submitted registration papers for the recently launched Kwangmyongsong 3-2 satellite to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
The papers were dated January 24 but were only made available this week by the Vienna-based organization. They were submitted by the DPRK’s diplomatic mission in the city.
They don’t provide any new information on the satellite, but are an important political step in North Korea’s continued instance that the launch was for peaceful purposes and that it’s abiding by international space conventions.
In this case, the OOSA’s registration convention calls on member states to furnish basic details about the launch More >
Caught on video: North Korea’s satellite
Dec 25th
North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, launched on December 12 but apparently silent ever since, has been captured on video by a South African satellite watcher. [UPDATED: See below]
Greg Roberts posted several video clips on YouTube that show reflections of light from the sides the satellite as it orbits the Earth.
The clips are from December 20th and clearly show the flashes of light. The camera was set on a mount to track the satellite’s path, so the stars in the sky move past in the background. As noted in the videos, the camera has some dead pixels that appear continuously white. Ignore More >
Tracking North Korea’s satellite
Dec 15th
It’s been a few days since North Korea put a satellite into space — a massive technological step for the country and something widely condemned by other countries — but we’re still not much closer to knowing anything about what’s up in space.
It only took a few hours for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Colorado-based U.S. Canadian air early warning organization, to detect three new objects in space coming from the North Korean rocket. NORAD later detected a fourth object.
The objects have been identified as the Kwangmyongsong 3-2 satellite (the second version of the satellite. The first version was More >
Voice of Korea on rocket launch
Dec 13th
North Korea’s international radio broadcaster, the Voice of Korea, carried two items in English on Wednesday announcing the rocket launch.
The first led the news bulletin and was just over two minutes long:
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121212-vok-launch_01.mp3The second, announced over a musical bed, was about 3 minutes long and came at the end of the hour-long broadcast:
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121212-vok-launch_01.mp3Both recordings were from Voice of Korea’s 1500GMT broadcast received via shortwave on 9335kHz.
US Space Command tracking three objects from DPRK launch
Dec 12th
U.S. Space Command is tracking three objects in orbit that apparently came from today’s North Korean rocket launch. The primary object is thought to be the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite.
It’s been given the satellite catalog number 39026 and the international designator 12-072A — both identifications that help keep sorted the catalogs of satellites and junk in orbit around the planet.
Analysis of the current trajectory of the satellite provides some clues as to its launch. If you remember back in April, there was a lot of speculation about whether North Korean planned to have the third stage rocket make a dog-leg maneuver while heading into More >
NORAD says object ‘appeared to achieve orbit’
Dec 12th
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known as NORAD, says it tracked the North Korean rocket launch and that it appears to have placed an object in orbit.
Here’s the statement, issued out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, NORAD said:
North American Aerospace Defense Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of a North Korean missile at 7:49 p.m. EST. The missile was tracked on a southerly azimuth. Initial indications are that the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea. The second stage was assessed to fall into the Philippine Sea. Initial indications More >
