Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2
| Mission type |
Earth observation Meteorology Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | KCST |
| COSPAR ID | 2012-072A |
| SATCAT no. | 39026 |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Institute of Military Electronics |
| Launch mass | 100 kilograms (220 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 December 2012, 00:49 UTC |
| Rocket | Unha-3 |
| Launch site | Sohae |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 6,921 kilometres (4,301 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0065 |
| Perigee | 492.5 kilometres (306.0 mi) |
| Apogee | 584.9 kilometres (363.4 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.4 degrees |
| Period | 95.42 minutes |
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 or Gwangmyeongseong-3 ho 2-hogi (Chosŏn'gŭl: 《광명성―3》호 2호기; Hancha: 光明星3號2號機; RR: Gwangmyeongseong-3 ho 2-hogi; MR: Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 ho 2-hogi; English: Bright Star-3 Unit 2 or Lodestar-3 Unit 2) is the first satellite successfully launched from North Korea, an Earth observation spacecraft that was launched on 12 December 2012, 00:49 UTC, in order to replace the original Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, which failed to reach orbit on 13 April 2012. The United Nations Security Council condemned the satellite launch, regarding it as a violation of the ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests, as the rocket technology is the same.
The launch came during the period when the DPRK was commemorating the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il and just before the first South Korean domestic launch of a satellite and the South Korean presidential election on 19 December 2012. The successful launch makes the DPRK the tenth space power capable of putting satellites in orbit using its own launch vehicles.
North Korea declared the launch successful, and the South Korean military and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported that initial indications suggested that an object had achieved orbit. North Korea had previously claimed the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 and Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 launches successful, despite American military sources claimed that they failed to achieve orbit.
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