[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Failed North Korean Satellite... 'The Two-Stage High-Altitude Engine Is the Problem'

North Korea failed in its space launch vehicle launch. The launch vehicle flew abnormally and crashed before the satellite could be placed in the orbit as announced by North Korea.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 31st, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "At around 6:29 a.m. on this day, a so-called space launch vehicle launched from the Dongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province toward the south fell into the sea about 200 km west of Eocheongdo."

According to North Korea's announcement, the space launch vehicle carrying the satellite was supposed to drop the first stage booster into the open sea of the West Sea about 230 to 300 km west of Daecheon Port in Chungnam immediately after launch, and the fairing (satellite protective cover) into the open sea of the southwestern sea about 270 to 330 km west of Jeju Naval Base, then fly to the sea about 700 to 1000 km east of Luzon Island in the Philippines to drop the second stage booster.

However, the launch vehicle passed over the distant sea west of Baengnyeongdo and fell abnormally into the sea about 200 km west of Eocheongdo. Eocheongdo is an island located about 60 km west of Gunsan, Jeonbuk.

North Korea also acknowledged the failure of the satellite launch vehicle. The National Aerospace Development Administration of North Korea explained, "At 6:27 a.m. on the 31st, the military reconnaissance satellite 'Malligyong-1' was launched from the West Sea Satellite Launch Site in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, aboard the new satellite carrier rocket 'Chollima-1.' The 'Chollima-1' lost propulsion and crashed into the West Sea due to abnormal ignition of the second stage engine after the first stage separation during normal flight."

The second stage engine mentioned by North Korea is a high-altitude engine. It is an engine that flies outside the atmosphere in a vacuum state without air. Considering that North Korea mentioned problems occurring after the separation of the first and second stage engines, there may have been an issue with the second stage engine itself.

Lee Chun-geun, an honorary research fellow at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Policy, said, "If the problem is just the separation of the engine stages, it can be resolved in a short time, but it is highly likely that North Korea has not actually tested the second stage high-altitude engine in a vacuum state, so it may take a long time to find a solution."

Cause of Non-Ignition of Second Stage Engine in Atmosphere After Stage Separation... No Own Vacuum Test Facility, Solution Unknown

North Korea also announced a re-launch. A spokesperson for the National Aerospace Development Administration said, "We will urgently investigate and clarify the serious defect in detail, devise scientific and technological measures to overcome it, conduct various tests, and carry out the second launch as soon as possible."

Our military also plans to recover debris from North Korea's launch vehicle. If recovery is successful, it will be possible to verify the performance of the propulsion engine, whether foreign parts were used, and the technological level. In 2016, the military recovered the launch vehicle of Kwangmyongsong-4 and concluded that the fairing had no measures against shock, vibration, or soot to protect the satellite, indicating that the purpose was not satellite launch.

Inside and outside the military expect that it will take a long time for North Korea to possess a satellite. North Korea has launched five satellites so far, but the success of these launches cannot be guaranteed. North Korea claimed its first satellite launch vehicle launch in August 1998, launching Kwangmyongsong-1. In April 2009, it launched Kwangmyongsong-2, but both failed. Later, on April 13, 2012, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Day of the Sun, it launched Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 1 aboard the long-range rocket Unha-3, but it exploded as the first and second stages failed to separate, resulting in another failure.

North Korea launched Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 on December 12, 2012. Both North Korea and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed its orbital insertion. On the 10th anniversary of the Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 launch, North Korea praised the first successful orbital insertion of its satellite as an achievement of Chairman Kim Jong-un. Furthermore, it claimed to have entered the ranks of a space power by successfully orbiting the Earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 on February 7, 2016.

The problem is that no one can verify the success of the satellite launches as claimed by North Korea. Whether Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 and Kwangmyongsong-4, which North Korea boasts about orbiting, are functioning normally has not been confirmed for years. Unless North Korea shares satellite frequencies with other countries, it is difficult to track the satellites and verify their operation. Because of this, some suspect that North Korean authorities might be conducting intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology tests under the pretext of satellite launches.