North Korea targets geostationary orbit and beyond
– News of March 17, 2019 –
North Korea has a space program and even interplanetary exploration ambitions. Obviously, this is a politically sensitive subject for the country’s allies and opponents. The technology used to create launchers is more or less the same as the technology used to make intercontinental missiles.
North Korea wanted to have its own satellites in the mid-1980s. We know that North Korea made a first attempt to launch in 1998. According to North Korea, it was a success, whereas almost all rest of the world said the satellite never reached orbit.
North Korea made several more tests until December 2012. In its fifth test, a North Korean satellite finally reached Earth’s orbit. Since 2012, North Korea is therefore considered a space power. North Korea made another launch in 2016.
In 2013, North Korea announced the creation of a national space agency, NADA. Since 2013, North Korea declares that it wants to carry out missions towards the Moon and the planet Mars. For this, it will be necessary for the NADA to develop much more powerful launchers than the one that is currently used in the North Korean space program.
In the shorter term, North Korean officials announced that they will work on developing a first satellite for geostationary orbit, which will already require a high-capacity launcher.
Logo by NADA
