Malligyong-1
Malligyong-1 (Korean: 만리경-1; Hanja: 萬里鏡-1, meaning Telescope-1) was a failed North Korean satellite mission that crashed into the Yellow Sea.[3] It was intended to be North Korea's first spy satellite[4] and would have been used to spy on South Korean and American targets.[2]
| Mission type | Reconnaissance |
|---|---|
| Operator | NADA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Dry mass | 300 kg[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | May 30, 2023, 21:27 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Chollima-1[2] |
First attempt
The first launch attempted happened May 31. The second stage of its launch vehicle, Chollima-1, ignited too early into the mission, causing the failure.[2] Evacuation alerts were issued in Seoul and Okinawa Prefecture.[5] The North Korean government quickly announced the launch failure.[6]
South Korea attempted to salvage the remainder of the rocket, searching a site 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the coast of Eocheongdo. The South Korean Ministry of Defence released an image of a white cylinder, suspected to be a part of the rocket.[6]
North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration said it would investigate before conducting a second satellite launch. The international community, including the White House, Japan, and the UN Secretary-General, condemned the launch, citing violations of Security Council resolutions prohibiting the use of ballistic missile technology.[7]
Second attempt
A second launch attempt of the satellite took place on 23 August 2023, again onboard a Chollima-1 launch vehicle. The launch resulted again in a failure with the loss of the satellite, this time caused by an anomalous activation of the flight termination system during the flight of the third stage of the rocket.[8]
References
- Jeongmin Kim (June 1, 2023). "North Korea rushed satellite launch after seeing ROK rocket success, Seoul says". NK News. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
- Palmer, Elizabeth (May 31, 2023). "Why does North Korea want a spy satellite so badly, and what went wrong with its attempt to launch one?". CBS News. Tokyo. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Mahadzir, Dzirhan (May 31, 2023). "North Korean Satellite Launch Fails, Debris Crashes in Yellow Sea". USNI News. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Tingley, Brett (May 31, 2023). "North Korea says its rocket launch failed, 1st spy satellite lost". Space.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Panasovskyi, Maksim (May 31, 2023). "DPRK launches Malligyong-1 military satellite to monitor the US and prepare for nuclear strikes, but Chollima-1 rocket falls into the sea". gagadget.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Kim, Hyung-Jim; Kim, Tong-Hyung (May 30, 2023). "North Korea spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into the sea". AP News. Seoul. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Kim, Chang-Ran; Shin, Hyonhee (May 31, 2023). "North Korea satellite plunges in sea in 'rushed' failure, more launches expected". Reuters. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- "KCNA Report on Accident in Second Launch of Military Reconnaissance Satellite". August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.