North Korea's satellite launch ends in mid-air explosion
North Korea's Latest Satellite Launch Ends in Mid-Air Explosion
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| Photo : AP |
The launch occurred just hours after Pyongyang announced it would try to launch a satellite by June 4. This was intended to be their second spy satellite in orbit.
However, the launch ended in failure, marking the latest in a series of unsuccessful attempts following two crashes last year. North Korea did manage to place its first spy satellite in orbit in November.
"The new satellite carrier rocket exploded during the flight of the first stage," reported the deputy director general of North Korea's National Aerospace Technology Administration via state media.
Initial analysis indicated that a newly developed liquid fuel rocket motor was likely the cause, although other factors were being considered.
Officials in South Korea and Japan confirmed that the launch seemed to have failed. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected a large amount of debris from the rocket in the sea just two minutes after launch, which took place at 10:44 p.m. (1344 GMT).
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the object launched by North Korea disappeared over the Yellow Sea and that no part of it entered space. Hayashi emphasized that such launches violate Security Council resolutions and pose a significant threat to public safety.
Japanese broadcaster NHK showed footage of what looked like an orange dot in the night sky, which then burst into flames near the China-North Korea border. A Japanese defense ministry official suggested that the color of the flames indicated liquid fuel burning.
The launch appeared to have originated from Dongchang-ri, the site of North Korea's main space flight center, according to JCS.
In response, Japan issued an emergency warning for residents in the south to seek cover but later lifted it, confirming that the missile was not expected to fly over Japanese territory.
Several Failures, One Success
This was North Korea's latest attempt to place a second spy satellite into orbit. Despite several failed launches, North Korea successfully placed its first such satellite in orbit in November.
The first attempt to launch the new Chollima-1 satellite rocket in May last year failed during the second stage. State media attributed this failure to an unstable and unreliable new engine system and fuel.
South Korea retrieved the wreckage of the May launch and concluded that the satellite had no significant reconnaissance capabilities. Another attempt in August also failed, with the rocket boosters malfunctioning and causing the payloads to crash into the sea.
Despite these setbacks, North Korea described the August failure as "not a big issue" regarding the rocket system's reliability.
In February, U.S. space experts noted that North Korea's first spy satellite, Malligyong-1, was operational, as changes in its orbit suggested Pyongyang was successfully controlling it. However, the satellite's capabilities remain unclear.
North Korean state media claimed the satellite transmitted photos of the Pentagon and White House, though no images have been released.
The successful November launch followed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's rare trip abroad in September, where he toured Russia's most modern space launch center. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help North Korea build satellites, though the extent of this aid, which could violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, remains unspecified.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that Russian experts had visited North Korea to assist with the satellite and space rocket program, citing an unnamed South Korean senior defense official.
Pyongyang asserts that it needs a military reconnaissance satellite to monitor U.S. and South Korean military activities more effectively.
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