Space
Stamps of previous satellite launches
Mar 19th
North Korea has twice attempted to launch satellites into space in the past: once in 1998 and once in 2009. The success of the launches is an issue of debate — monitors, both governmental and amateur, never managed to detect signals from the 2009 satellite — but they were immortalized on two North Korean postage stamps.
The first is from 1998 and illustrates the August 31st launch of Kwangmyongsong-1.
The launch came during the country’s “arduous march,” a period of extreme famine in the country that is estimated to have killed between 900,000 and 3.5 million people. At the end of the year, North More >
Foreigners, media invited to satellite launch
Mar 19th
North Korea says it will invite international observers and foreign media to witness the upcoming launch of its Kwangmyongsong 3 satellite, state-run media said on Saturday.
The launch, which is due to take place between April 12 and 15, is expected to become one of the high points of the country’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung on April 15. The invitation of foreign observers to see the launch increases the pressure on North Korea to ensure the launch goes perfectly — a launch malfunction would be embarrassing for the country, especially if the foreign media is allowed More >
North Korea to launch satellite in April
Mar 16th
North Korea will launch a satellite in mid-April to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, according to a Friday report on the state-run Korea Central News Agency.
The satellite will be called Kwangmyongsong-3 and will be launched between April 12 and April 16, the report said quoting a statement from the Korean Committee for Space Technology. A Unha-3 launched will be used.
Technicians plan to launch the satellite into a polar orbit, which means it won’t sit in one place in the sky like a TV satellite but will orbit the globe passing over multiple points. Exact details of More >
