Posts tagged Kwangmyongsong-3
DPRK’s satellite launch might be delayed
Dec 10th
A week after North Korea signaled the world that it planned to attempt a second rocket launch this year, the country has signaled it may delay that launch.
The news came in a statement from the Korean Committee of Space Technology that was carried on Sunday by the state-run Korea Central News Agency,
As announced, we are making preparations for the launch of the second version of Kwangmyongsong-3, a scientific and technological satellite, at the final stage.
Our scientists and technicians, however, are now seriously examining the issue of readjusting the launching time of the satellite for some reasons. — KCNA, December 9, 2012.
While no More >
Exclusive: More on DPRK rocket trajectory and launch plans
Dec 4th
We’ve got more details on North Korea’s plans to launch a rocket later in December, including the daily launch window and where parts of the rocket might drop to sea. [Updated: See below]
The details were included in a notification sent from the DPRK’s embassy in London to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is based in the same city.
The notification, a copy of which was obtained by NorthKoreaTech.org, says the rocket will launch sometime between 7am and noon local time (2200 to 0300 GMT) during the possible launch period, which is from December 10th to 22nd.
North Korea’s previous rocket launch, More >
DPRK plans satellite launch in December
Dec 1st
North Korea’s state news agency said Saturday that the country plans to launch a satellite later in the month.
The launch will be the second the country has attempted this year. The last, in April, ended in failure when the rocket failed to make it to orbit.
Confirmation comes after several days of speculation the country was preparing for a launch at the Sohae-ri Satellite Launch Facility in the country’s north. Satellite images of the launch facility had showed increased activity consistent with a launch.
The KCNA bulletin, which was released Saturday afternoon, said the rocket would take a safe flight path. Previously, it flew 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 >
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 >
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.
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 >
Sohae visit adds to launch, payload knowledge
Apr 10th
It’s been a day since foreign reporters were given a tour of North Korea’s Sohae launch facility. Stories have been filed, photos have been uploaded and video has been broadcast, so what have we learned?
The man of the moment at the launch site was Jang Myong Jin, who was identified as general manager of the launch facility and widely quoted in reports. Jang repeated government assertions that the launch is peaceful in purpose and intended to launch a satellite.
“If it were a ballistic missile it would have to be hidden in an underground chamber, or would need to be carried More >
First reports from Sohae launch pad
Apr 9th
Foreign reporters in Pyongyang to cover the planned launch this week of North Korea’s Unha-3 rocket were given a tour of the Sohae launch facility on Sunday.
The launch pad, previously only see through the lens of satellite photos, was opened to the reporters a day after they arrived in North Korea.
Here are some of their first impressions from Twitter. The site will be updated as more becomes available.
KCNA reported on Friday that the foreign journalists included those from AP, Reuters, AFP, CNN, NBC, BBC, Russia’s Channel One, NTV and Zvezda, Japan’s NHK and Kyodo News, Germany’s ARD, Sweden’s SVT, Swiss More >
