Space
Satellite images show changes at Sohae-ri rocket launch facility
Nov 29th
Both of the major private satellite imagery providers, GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, have captured images of the North Korean satellite launch facility in the last month and both images show changes from earlier this year.
Earlier this year, satellite images from the companies were one of the first indications that North Korea was preparing for a rocket launch and now that talk has restarted. It’s in part due to DigitalGlobe’s own analysis of its latest image and an article on 38 North that looks at an image from September.
So, what do the images show is happening at Sohae, also known as Tongchang-ri launch More >
Report: DPRK jams South Korean satellite comms
Nov 17th
North Korea earlier this year jammed military communications running through a South Korea satellite, according to a report in the Joong Ang Ilbo.
The newspaper, which quoted an anonymous South Korean military official, said a powerful signal sent from a location near Pyongyang caused interference to military communications on the Koreasat 5 satellite in March this year.
However, as usual with such leaks from the Korean government to the local media, what actually happened remains far from clear.
Koreasat 5 was launched in 2006 and carries a mixed commercial and military payload.
On the commercial side are 24 ku-band transponders operated by Korea Telecom that carry Korean More >
Many more satellite launches coming, says DPRK
May 4th
North Korea’s failed satellite launch may have faded from the pages of the world’s media, but the country’s state-run news agency hasn’t forgotten the international community’s objections to the plan.
A commentary published on Thursday by Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) rehashes North Korea’s argument that the launch was part of a peaceful, civilian space program and should be seen as another chapter in the history of global space exploration.
Arguing that thousands of objects have been sent into space since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the editorial asserts that a nation’s technological prowess is partly defined by its space technology.
The More >
DPRK promises more satellite launches
Apr 19th
North Korea says it will continue to conduct satellite launches despite the protests of other countries.
The pledge was made in a statement by the country’s foreign ministry, which was carried by the Korea Central News Agency and Voice of Korea radio (below) and doesn’t come as a surprise.
The statement reiterates North Korea’s assertion that its launches are for “peaceful purposes” and promises that future launches will include a geostationary satellite.
A geostationary satellite maintains an orbit above the equator so that it doesn’t appear to change position when viewed from Earth. Communications satellites, like those used to beam TV to the home, More >
Voice of Korea on launch failure
Apr 14th
Voice of Korea, the DPRK’s international radio service, broadcast news of the failure to place the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite into orbit.
Below is a recording of the radio station’s English-language broadcast for Friday. Voice of Korea typically updates its programming once a day, so is almost always beaten to the news by domestic media outlets. i’m posting it here because it’s the only radio or TV news available in English.
As expected, there’s no update on the reason for the failure.
http://www.northkoreatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/120413-vok.mp3North Korea-watchers with a keen eye have already noted how unusual it is for the country to admit failure, as Chico Harlan writes More >
Located: North Korea’s satellite command center
Apr 13th
After North Korea invited international media to its satellite control center it was only a matter of time before it was located on satellite images. The building, distinctive for two round domes (possible radar domes) on the rooftop at each end (see below), made it fairly easy to spot. And that’s what’s happened.
Most of the media that visited the facility didn’t report its location. Japan’s NHK said it was in “northern Pyongyang” (correct!) while Chinese media said “about 20 kilometers northwest of Pyongyang” (incorrect).
It was first spotted by a reader to Curtis Melvin’s North Korea Economy Watch site.
The launch might More >
Launch failure special news broadcast
Apr 13th
North Korean TV ran a special news broadcast informing the country that the launch of the Kwangmyongsong 3 had failed to reach.
The broadcast came several hours after the launch. which passed by when national TV was still yet to begin programming. When it did begin daily broadcasts, the TV station opened as usual and went into regular programming.
The special bulletin came several hours later, long after the rest of the world has discovered what happened to the rocket.
According to U.S. media reports attributed to government sources, the rocket exploded about 90 seconds after its launch from the Sohae launch facility.
The More >
What North Korea’s launch might look like
Apr 13th
Based on information submitted by the DPRK to international organizations prior to launch, the folks at Analytical Graphics have produced a good-looking computer simulation of what the Unha-3 launch might look like.
The simulation lacks of the most recent theories on the precise launch path, such as a slight dog-leg turn in the trajectory of the satellite when the third stage separates, but that’s not too important.
Take a look and you’ll have a good feel for the path of the rocket and how the first and second stages will drop into the ocean.
More on the satellite launch trajectory
Apr 11th
A lucky close-up of a computer screen in TV pictures from the Sohae launch facility is providing further clues as to the true launch trajectory of North Korea’s Unha-3 rocket launch.
[This story has been updated, see below]
The shot, included in pictures broadcast by Russia Today (see below), appears to show the satellite’s orbital path on a computer screen. It begins at the top of the image (click for a better view) and sweeps down across North Korea traveling southwards until it skirts the western coast of Mindanao and travels onwards to cross Australia’s eastern tip.
This additional information has led satellite More >
Where is North Korea’s satellite heading?
Apr 11th
If all goes according to plan, North Korea will launch its Unha-3 rocket from the Sohae launch facility in just a day or two. The rocket is said to contain an earth observation satellite that will orbit the globe providing pictures and climatic data.
Getting all the pieces to work as planned will be no small feat for North Korea. Its previous attempt to launch a satellite using a three-stage rocket failed in 2009 when the third stage didn’t ignite, sending it and a satellite plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
Assuming all three stages of the rocket succeed this time, the precision More >
