North Korean satellite Dutch satellite scholar ‘is alive’ Minister Shin Won-sik ‘just turns’
Regarding the North Korean satellite, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik said on the 26th that it was ‘just rotating without reconnaissance communication’, while a Dutch satellite scientist and an American expert said on the 27th respectively that it was ‘alive.’
North Korea's first reconnaissance satellite is "alive" after detecting changes in its orbit that suggest the country is successfully piloting the spacecraft, Reuters and VOA, citing a space engineering professor at a Dutch technical university, said on the 27th. He said, “The ability is not yet known.”
Minister Shin Won-sik said at a press conference on the 26th, "It's not doing any reconnaissance, it's not relaying communications to the ground, it's just going around," and "That's why I said it's going around without work."
On this day, when asked whether North Korea's reconnaissance satellite, the Great Mirror, was operating normally, Minister Shin responded, "The orbit is spinning. What is spinning is receiving normal reception," and "It shouldn't spin without work, but there are no signs that it is working."
“Now we can say with certainty that the satellite is alive,” Marco Langbroek, a professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, wrote on his blog, Reuters reports. “From February 19 to 24, the satellite reached perigee, the lowest point in its orbit. A maneuver was performed to increase the range from 488km to 497km. “This operation proves that Great Mirror 1 is not dead and that North Korea has control over the satellite,” the report said, citing data from the U.S.-led Combined Space.
Professor Langbroke said, “North Korea’s satellite technology has advanced further than expected. “It’s very surprising,” he told VOA on the 28th, adding, “it’s certainly more advanced than a satellite that cannot raise its orbit.”
He continued, “And in that sense, yeah it shows something critical about the technical capabilities of the North Korean space program,” adding, “U.S. satellite tracking data. “As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that North Korea’s reconnaissance satellite ‘Manrikyeong-1’ has secured its own orbital ascent capability to return to its original position even if it leaves orbit,” he told VOA.
Reuters continued, “After two failures, North Korea successfully launched the Great Mirror 1 satellite into orbit last November,” and added, “North Korea’s state-run media claimed to have taken photos of sensitive military and political locations in South Korea and the United States, but no photos were taken. It was not disclosed. Independent radio trackers did not detect satellite signals,” it said.
Reuters said, “South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense also assessed the satellite as being in orbit, but said it would not comment further on the individual analysis.” “On Monday, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said there were no signs that the satellite was performing any other mission or participating in reconnaissance.” reported.
In response to Minister Shin's comments, Dutch expert Langbroek wrote, "At the moment we are not sure whether the satellite will successfully take images, but at least it performs orbital maneuvers, so it is functional in that sense," adding, "The presence of an onboard propulsion system The orbital lift maneuver came as a surprise, as it was unexpected and no previous North Korean satellite had ever maneuvered before. “Having the ability to elevate a satellite’s orbit is a big deal,” he said.
Regarding the conclusion that it works, he said, "This means that as long as the satellite has fuel, North Korea can extend the life of the satellite when its altitude becomes too low due to orbital collapse."
“It looks like the satellite is correcting its position in space, moving back to its original position immediately after launch, rather than making hostile movements toward other countries’ satellites,” Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer and orbital tracker, told Reuters. “It’s too small.” .
As space has grown into an important arena for communications, commerce, and military activities, the world's leading space powers - the United States, Russia, and China - have launched a series of satellites capable of manipulating and inspecting other orbital objects in recent years, and companies and countries have launched them. Satellites are often manipulated to improve the position of objects in orbit.
“Various other reasons to maneuver include avoiding other satellites or space debris or, depending on the capabilities of the satellite, overtaking an area of interest on Earth,” Reuters said. “Tracking any active object in orbit and sometimes assessing its capabilities. “The U.S. Space Command did not immediately comment on the North Korean satellite,” he said.
Reuters continued, “North Korea, which is armed with nuclear weapons, has pledged to launch three more reconnaissance satellites in 2024.”
Regarding the launch of additional North Korean satellites in April, Minister Shin said, "It can be done as early as March. I said early April, so if Kim Jong-un says, 'Comrades, launch it before South Korea,' we can launch it at the end of March." After putting it up, I have to orbit it and check the communication status. “You can tell whether they are really communicating with the ground or doing reconnaissance,” he said.
Minister Shin continued, “The satellite-related technology that Putin promised will continue to advance,” adding, “If you look at the fourth satellite launch, you can compare the speed of North Korea’s technological development.” there is. “It will be proven how far it has gone in Russia,” and “I understand that North Korea has requested technology related to aircraft and ground mobility equipment from Russia.” “It is unclear how much Russia will give,” he said.
Regarding Korea’s launch of additional reconnaissance satellites, Minister Shin said, “Considering the weather, we have discussed with the United States that we will launch a SAR satellite in the first week of April,” adding, “This time, we will launch a SAR satellite in the first week of April.” “We plan to launch it from Covernaral Air Force Base.” The South Korean military launched a military reconnaissance satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 2 last year.
Professor Langbroke told VOA, “Having the ability to adjust the orbit means that North Korea has ‘complete control’ to control the attitude or direction of the satellite in outer space and control the altitude of the orbit at will.” “It will enable us to use satellites at the same level,” he observed.
VOA continued, “Satellites naturally lower their altitude over time due to the drag that exists in the Earth's upper atmosphere. “It extends the lifespan of the satellite,” he explained.
Brian Weeden, director of the space program at the Secure World Foundation, a space-related non-governmental organization, told VOA on the 28th, “The satellite that North Korea launched was not at a sophisticated level,” adding, “North Korea successfully launched the Great Mirror-1 in a short period of time and adjusted its orbit. “If it had the capability, Russia could have provided technology in the fields of sensors, engines that provide propulsion, and other satellite systems,” he said.
He was the director of the orbital analysis program at the U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Center (JSPOC).
Robert Peters, a nuclear deterrence and missile defense researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA on this day, “The challenge is to secure additional propulsion at altitude for atmospheric re-entry technology, which is a core capability of ICBMs,” and added, “Satellite orbital ascent is a field that requires similar capabilities and is relevant.” there is. “North Korea may have been inspired by satellite orbit adjustment technology during ICBM research, and conversely, it may be able to apply its success in the satellite field to the missile field,” he said.