Unha Ban on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Unha or Eunha ( ko, 은하, 銀河, "Galaxy") is a North Korean expendable carrier rocket, which partially utilizes the same delivery system as the Taepodong-2 orbital launch system.
The Unha's first stage consists of four clustered Nodong motors, which themselves are enlarged
"North Korea Successfully Launches Satellite: Reports"
SPACE.com, December 12, 2012 (accessed 24 Sept. 2014)
"An Analysis of North Korea’s Unha-2 Launch Vehicle,"
David Wright, March 20, 2009. *Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen
"Nuclear Notebook: North Korea’s nuclear program, 2005""''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''"
May/June 2005. {{North Korean Space Program Space launch vehicles of North Korea Expendable space launch systems Vehicles introduced in 2009
History
North Korea's first orbital space launch attempt occurred on August 31, 1998, and was unsuccessful. This launch attempt was performed by a Paektusan-1 rocket, which used a solid motor third stage, aScud
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporti ...
-missile-based second stage, and a Nodong-1 based first stage. Nodong-1 was a North Korean-developed stage thought to be a scale-up of the old Soviet Scud missile
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the mis ...
. The Paektusan-1 stood tall, was in diameter, and weighed about 21 tonnes.
Vehicle description
The Unha's first stage consists of four clustered Nodong motors, which themselves are enlarged Scud
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporti ...
motors. The second stage was initially thought to be based on the SS-N-6
The R-27 Zyb was a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union and employed by the Soviet Navy from 1968 through 1988. NATO assigned the missile the reporting name SS-N-6 Serb. In the USSR, it was given the GRAU index 4K1 ...
, although it, too, is now believed to be based on Scud technology. The third and last stage might be identical to the Iranian Safir's second stage which is propelled by two small gimballed motors.
Recent satellite images of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station showing an enlarged launch tower under construction indicate that an enlarged version, called Unha-X, might be under development, coupled with a North Korean propaganda poster showing such a vehicle.
Launch history
On 24 February 2009, North Korea announced that a Unha rocket would be used to launch the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite. According to the South Korean government, the launch took place on 5 April from theTonghae Satellite Launching Ground
The Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, also known as Musudan-ri (), is a rocket launching site in North Korea.
Location
It lies in southern Hwadae County, North Hamgyong Province, near Musu Dan, the cape marking the northern end of the East K ...
in Hwadae
Hwadae County is a county in southern North Hamgyong province, North Korea, with an area of about 460 km2 and a population of approximately 70,000. It adjoins the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) on the east and south. By land, it adjoins ...
county. Several countries, including South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, voiced concerns that the launch would violate United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 which prohibits North Korea from testing ballistic missiles. Russia also announced they urged North Korea to refrain from its planned rocket launch.
On April 5, 2009, the Unha-2 rocket was launched at around 02:30 hours UTC (11:30 hours KST). The U.S. Northern Command said that the first stage of the rocket fell into the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea), while the other rocket stages as well as the payload fell into the Pacific Ocean, and no object entered orbit. Later analysis indicated the rocket impacted from the launch site, and that the second stage operated normally but the rocket's third stage failed to separate properly. North Korea maintains that the rocket successfully put its payload in orbit.
On December 12, 2012, the Unha-3 Unit-2 rocket was launched at 00:49 UTC (7:49 EST). The U.S. Northern Command said that the first stage of the rocket fell into the Yellow Sea, while the debris of the second stage was assessed to have fallen into the Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...
and confirmed that the satellite had entered orbit.SPACE.com, December 12, 2012 (accessed 24 Sept. 2014)
See also
* Comparison of orbital launchers families * Timeline of first orbital launches by country *Naro-1
Naro-1 ( ko, 나로호), previously designated the Korea Space Launch Vehicle or KSLV (also KSLV-1), was South Korea's first carrier rocket, and the first South Korean launch vehicle to achieve Earth orbit. On January 30, 2013, the third Naro-1 ...
* Simorgh (rocket)
References
External links
"An Analysis of North Korea’s Unha-2 Launch Vehicle,"
David Wright, March 20, 2009. *Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen
"Nuclear Notebook: North Korea’s nuclear program, 2005"
May/June 2005. {{North Korean Space Program Space launch vehicles of North Korea Expendable space launch systems Vehicles introduced in 2009