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The Kwangmyŏngsŏng program was a class of experimental
satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientif ...
developed by
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. The name Kwangmyŏngsŏng ("bright star", "brilliant star" or "constellation" in Korean) is from a
poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
written by
Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
. The first class of satellites built by North Korea, the program started in the mid-1980s. There have been five launches so far, of which two have been successful.


Background

According to North Korea Academy of Science's Academician Kwon Tong-hwa, the SLV was developed in the 1980s when late leader Kim Il Sung announced the decision to launch a North Korean satellite. The decision to send a North Korean satellite was precipitated by the successful launching of
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
's first satellite, Uribyol-1, on 10 August 1992 and its second satellite, Uribyol 2, on 26 September 1993, both by a European
Ariane 4 The Ariane 4 was a European expendable rocket, expendable launch vehicle in the Ariane (rocket family), Ariane family, developed by the (CNES), the Government of France, French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). The manufacturi ...
SLV. In a late-1993 meeting of the Korean Workers' Party Central Committee, Kim Il Sung expressed his desire to quickly place a satellite into orbit, leading to the expansion of North Korea's nascent space program and the requirement for a space launch vehicle.


Launch attempts


First orbital launch attempt

On 4 September 1998, the official
Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...
announced that a satellite called ''Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1'' had been launched at 3:07 UTC on 31 August from a launch site in Musudan-ri, Hwadae-gun, North Hamgyong Province by a Paektusan-1 satellite launch vehicle (SLV). No objects were ever tracked in
orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...
from the launch, and outside North Korea it is considered to have been a failure.
United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...
reported that the satellite failed to reach orbit, and burned up in the atmosphere. The failure is believed to have occurred during the third stage burn. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il revealed that the country had spent approximately 200–300 million dollars for the satellite project during a summit with then-South Korean president
Kim Dae-Jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...
in 2000.


Second orbital launch attempt

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was a
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
launched by
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
on 5 April 2009. According to the North Korean government, an Unha-2 rocket carrying the satellite was launched on Sunday 5 April 2009 at 11:20 local time (02:20 UTC) from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground at Musudan-ri in northeastern North Korea. However, officials in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
reported that the rocket and any payload had fallen into the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
.North Korea space launch 'fails'
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 5 April 2009
The Russian Space Control concurred, stating that the satellite "simply is not there". Prior to the launch, concern was raised by other nations, particularly the United States, South Korea and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, that the launch might be a trial run of technology that could be used in the future to launch an
intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
. The launch of the rocket was sharply condemned by the United States and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, while the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
urged restraint.


Third launch attempt

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 was a polar-orbiting earth observation satellite that North Korea tried to launch 13 April 2012 from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Cholsan County in northwestern North Korea. The satellite was to be lifted by a Unha-3 carrier rocket. The satellite launch was timed to coincide with the centenary of Kim Il Sung's birth. The rocket broke up a minute after its launch and the remains fell into the ocean.


Fourth launch attempt

On 1 December 2012, the
Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...
said that the Korean Committee for Space Technology announced that it would launch a second version of Kwangmyongsong-3 to be lifted by a Unha-3 carrier rocket at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on a launch period between 10 and 22 December 2012. The launch was carried out on 12 December 2012, at 09:50 local time (00:50 UTC) and the satellite entered polar orbit, as confirmed by monitoring agencies in South Korea and North America with NORAD #39026 and International designator 2012-072A.


Fifth launch attempt

Kwangmyongsong-4 or KMS-4 is an Earth observation satellite launched by North Korea on 7 February 2016. On 7 February 2016, roughly a month after an alleged hydrogen bomb test, North Korea claimed to have put a
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
into
orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...
around the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
. Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...
had warned the North to not launch the rocket, and if it did and the rocket violated
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese territory, it would be shot down. Nevertheless, North Korea launched the rocket anyway, claiming the satellite was purely intended for peaceful, scientific purposes. Several nations, including the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Japan, and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, have criticized the launch, and despite North Korean claims that the rocket was for peaceful purposes, it has been heavily criticized as an attempt to perform an
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
test under the disguise of a peaceful satellite launch.
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
also criticized the launch; however it urged "the relevant parties" to "refrain from taking actions that may further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula".


Planned sixth launch attempt

There are plans to a sixth launch attempt of a Kwangmyŏngsŏng program satellite, called Kwangmyŏngsŏng-5. In late December 2017, it was reported that Kwangmyŏngsŏng-5 had completed and could be launched on a mobile launch platform. The satellite was reported to be equipped with cameras and telecommunication devices, as well as the capability of transmitting data back to Earth. So far, the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-5 has not been launched.


In popular culture

The Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 satellite has since featured prominently in North Korean festivities and celebrations such as the mass games. Commemorative stamps showing the real shape of the satellite still attached to the spin up solid motor orbital insertion third stage and more than two orbits have also been printed on several occasions.


See also

*
Dong Fang Hong I ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the western world also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong program, Dong ...
*
Iranian Space Agency The Iranian Space Agency (ISA, Persian language, Persian: ''Sāzmān-e Fazāi-ye Irān'') is Iran's Government of Iran, governmental space agency. The Iranian Space Research Center and Iranian Space Agency are the main organizations carrying ...
* Korean Committee of Space Technology * Musudan-ri * Sohae Satellite Launching Station


References


External links


Kwangmyongsong
Encyclopedia Astronautica * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwangmyongsong Space program of North Korea 1998 in North Korea 1998 in spaceflight