Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1
An image released on North Korean television of the first experimental satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1.
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	광명성 1호
Hancha	光明星一號
McCune–Reischauer	Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1
Revised Romanization	Gwangmyeongseong-1

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1

Operator	KCST
Mission type	Technology
Launch date	31 August 1998, 03:07 GMT
Carrier rocket	Paektusan
Launch site	Musudan-ri
Orbital elements
Regime	MEO

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 (Chosungul: 광명성 1호, Hanja: 光明星 1號, meaning Bright Star 1) was a satellite allegedly launched by North Korea on 31 August 1998. While the North Korean government claimed that the launch was successful making North Korea the ninth country to launch a satellite, no objects were ever tracked in orbit from the launch,^[1] and outside North Korea it is considered to have been a failure.^[2] It was the first satellite to be launched as part of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng programme, and the first satellite that North Korea attempted to launch.

It was launched from Musudan-ri using a Paektusan rocket, at 03:07 GMT on 31 August 1998, a few days before the 50th anniversary of North Korea's independence from Japan. On 1 September, the Korean Central News Agency announced that the satellite had successfully been placed into medium Earth orbit.

The China National Space Administration was involved in the development of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1. which was had a 72 faced tetrahedral shape, similar to Dong Fang Hong I, the first Chinese satellite.^[3] The mass of the satellite is unclear, with estimates ranging from 6 kilograms (13 lb) to 170 kilograms (370 lb).

Launch

On August 7, 1998, scientific personnel began to arrive at the Musudan-ri test site to prepare for a satellite launch. Two weeks later, Korean People's Navy vessels were deployed into the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) to track the rocket during its ascent to orbit. The launch was originally scheduled for an evening launch window on 30 August, in order to provide favourable conditions for observing the launch. Due to adverse weather, the window was extended, and launch occurred at 03:07 GMT (12:07 local time),^[1] by which time the weather had improved.

By mid-August, U.S. intelligence had detected activity consistent with preparation and support of a missile flight test, and on August 31, North Korea launched the Paektusan-1 in an attempt to place a small satellite into earth orbit. U.S. intelligence observed the preparations for the launch, so the timing was not a surprise; however, most analysts did not expect the missile to be configured as a space launch vehicle with a third stage.93 The Paektusan-1 demonstrated successful stage separation, but the third stage failed to place the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 (光明星-1) into orbit. Despite the failure, DPRK media claimed the satellite entered earth orbit after 4 minutes and 53 seconds of flight.

The U.S./Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) were unable to detect the satellite visually, by radar, or to pick up its radio signals, reporting instead that it continued east, burning up, with a debris trail that apparently extended to approximately 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi).^[4][5] It is thought that the Baekdusan-1 solid propellant third stage both demonstrated a near full duration burn and the spin up of the stage and satellite along its longitudinal axis. However, the third stage solid motor ruptured, de-orbiting the satellite almost immediately after orbital insertion while achieving orbital velocity. U.S. officials said the launching represented North Korea's interests to build longer-range missiles.^[6]

The United States initially claimed the launch was a test of a Taepodong-1 intercontinental ballistic missile,^[7] however it later agreed that the rocket's trajectory indicated an orbital launch attempt.^[1]

Ethymology

The names “Paektusan” and “Kwangmyŏngsŏng” are richly symbolic for Korean nationalism and the Kim family cult. Paektusan (Mount Paektu) is the highest mountain in Korea (North and South) and is located on the border with China. According to Korean nationalist mythology, Tangun, the mythical founder of Korea, was born on the mountain in 2333 BC.^[8] And according to DPRK hagiographic propaganda, the mountain is sacred as the home of Kim Il-sŏng’s anti-Japanese guerrilla base, as well as the birthplace of Kim Jong il. Even though Kim Chŏng-il was born in the former Soviet Far East near Khabarovsk, DPRK sources claim Kim was born on Mount Paektu, and on that day a bright lode star (kwangmyŏngsŏng) appeared in the sky, so everyone knew a new general had been born.

Aftermath

The August 31, 1998, Paektusan-1 launch was significant for North Korean domestic politics.^[9] North Korean media did not announce the test until September 4, one day before the Supreme People’s Assembly amended the DPRK Constitution to usher in the Kim Chŏng-il era. The DPRK Socialist Constitution declared Kim Il-sŏng “eternal president of the DPRK” and elevated the status of the National Defense Commission, which is chaired by Kim Chŏng-il. In the days before and after the attempted satellite launch, DPRK media often made references to the doctrine of kangsŏngdaeguk since satellite launches and missiles represent the highest levels of technology.

On 13 September, the North Korean media reported that the satellite had completed its 100th orbit, and that it was in an elliptical medium Earth orbit with a perigee of 218.82 kilometres (135.97 mi) and apogee of 6,978.2 kilometres (4,336.1 mi) with a period of 165 minutes and 6 seconds.^[1] North Korea stated that the satellite carried transmitters which broadcast the Song of General Kim Il-sung, the Song of General Kim Jong-Il and "Juche Korea" in morse code, on a frequency of 27 MHz.^[1] It also claimed that the spacecraft returned data on the temperature and pressure in space, and the conditions of its power source.

Design

In designing the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, North Korea received considerable assistance from the China's Academy of Launch Technology. This assistance has continued with the development of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite project. It may also extend to additional satellites, including a crude reconnaissance satellite. Thus, the photographs published after the launch showed a satellite similar in shape with a 72 faced polyhedron, to the first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, itself very similar to Telstar 1, though estimations of the mass and therefore the size of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 differed according to the various sources, ranging from 6 kg to 170 kg (as compared to the 173 kg and 100 cm × 100 cm × 100 cm of the DFH-1).^[10]

See also

• Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Wade, Mark. "Kwangmyongsong 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/details/kwa11163.htm. Retrieved 6 April 2009. 
2. ^ "Missile Defense Testing Needed to Meet North Korean Threat". Heritage Foundation. 29 July 1999. http://www.heritage.org/research/missiledefense/em614.cfm. Retrieved 5 April 2009. 
3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Kwangmyongsong". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/kwagsong.htm. Retrieved 6 April 2009. 
4. ^ "U.S. Calls North Korean Rocket a Failed Satellite". New York Times. 15 September 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/15/world/us-calls-north-korean-rocket-a-failed-satellite.html?scp=2&sq=taepodong+north+korea&st=nyt. Retrieved 5 April 2009. 
5. ^ "Missile Defense Testing Needed to Meet North Korean Threat". Heritage Foundation. 29 July 1999. http://www.heritage.org/research/missiledefense/em614.cfm. Retrieved 5 April 2009. 
6. ^ "A North Korean Satellite? U.S. Is Searching". New York Times. 6 September 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/06/world/a-north-korean-satellite-us-is-searching.html?scp=3&sq=taepodong+north+korea&st=nyt. Retrieved 5 April 2009. 
7. ^ "A North Korean Satellite? U.S. Is Searching". New York Times. 6 September 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/06/world/a-north-korean-satellite-us-is-searching.html?scp=3&sq=taepodong+north+korea&st=nyt. Retrieved 6 April 2009. 
8. ^ Brue Cumings, Korea’s Place in the Sun, New York: W. W. Norton, 1997, pp. 22-25. North Korea claims to have discovered Tangun’s remains in Pyongyang in 1993, and has since built a tomb for him on the outskirts of Pyongyang. See “North, South Commemorate Accession Day of Nation’s Founder,” The People’s Korea, October 12, 2002, pp. 1-2,
9. ^ Daniel A. Pinkston, “North and South Korean Space Development,” Astropolitics, Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 217-219.
10. ^ "一九九六－二〇〇五年全球运载火箭发射概况". 中国空间技术研究院. 25 July 2006. http://www.cast.cn/castcn/show.asp?articleid=15028. Retrieved 28 February 2009.