Posts tagged Sohae Launch Facility
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 >
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 >
Launch preparations underway at Sohae
Apr 6th
The latest satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Launch Facility shows what appears to be preparations for the planned mid-April launch of a Unha-3 rocket. The pictures, from GeoEye, show several vehicles in the launch pad area, apparently taking in part in work ahead of the launch. There has also been progress on several construction projects at the facility on North Korea’s western coast.
A previous satellite image of the launch pad, taken 10 days earlier, revealed no apparent activity at the launch pad but the latest image, below, shows several vehicles in the pad area. There also appears to be More >
DPRK plans to show off satellite prior to launch
Mar 30th
International experts invited to North Korea to observe its planned Unha-3 rocket launch will get to see not just the launch but also the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite installed in the rocket, state media said on Thursday.
There has been much doubt expressed in the international community about whether the launch, planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, is anything more than a cover for a long-range missile test.
The country’s media has to-date failed to provide a photograph of the planned satellite. Even if they did it couldn’t be verified.
Should foreign experts and reporters get a close-up More >
Inside Sohae Launch Facility
Mar 27th
Recent satellite images of the Sohae Launch Facility on the DPRK’s west coast are providing the best glimpse yet of the center where the DPRK intends to launch a rocket in early April. North Korea says it’s launching a satellite while the rest of the world consider it a cover for a long-range missile test.
Whatever the truth of the planned launch, here’s a look at some of the most interesting areas of the facility. All of the information is based on analysis of the most current satellite image from GeoEye, previous images through Google Earth, and through previously published pictures More >
Exclusive: North Korea’s expected rocket trajectory
Mar 21st
North Korea’s Unha-3 rocket, scheduled for launch next month, will drop to earth in two stages off the western coast of South Korea and to the east of Luzon Island in the Philippines, according to documents submitted by the country to the International Maritime Organization.
The documents, obtained by NorthKoreaTech.org, were sent to the IMO’s London headquarters from the DPRK’s embassy in the U.K. They carried the name of “Ko Nung Do,” who is identified as director general of the DPRK’s Maritime Administration.
Some of the information restates what has already been disclosed by the country: that the launch would take place 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 >
