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North Korea Missile Launch Fails
An anonymous reader writes "Remember the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launch by the North Koreans last night? You know, the one that went over Japan and supposedly put a 'communications satellite' into orbit. Well, according to the US Northern Command and NORAD it has been a complete and utter failure, with the second stage and payload 'falling in the Pacific.'"
First-world nations had plenty of problems with their space programs at first too. Considering that North Korea has isolated itself, it's not surprising that they're going through the pain everyone else went through 60 years ago.
I live in Seoul, you insensitive clod!
I am serious.
And since you are an insensitive clod and most likely an American, consider this. Tens of thousands of American soldiers and civilians live in or near Seoul. Right now. That means they are within artillery range of North Korea. (No, I'm not kidding.)
Feel better?
It's so easy to make bold assertions when you don't know or care about the consequences...
Few sources without a vested interest are equipped with the tracking radars and other equipment needed to verify whether or not the launch failed.
They've had missiles that could reach Japan for quite some time already... this was quite the failure for them.
Well, according to KCNA, the launch was a total success, a shining product of Korean self-reliance and an inspiration to the whole Korean people. No, really.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Nope, many of you probably don't. Around the time the Russians put up Sputnik, the American space program was centered around Project Vanguard. It was going to put our first satellite into orbit. And our first satellite was going to be way better than Sputnik.
Only the rockets kept crashing. It became a source of national embarrassment and the subject of jokes.
See this image, for examp.e.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
What would the DPRK possibly benefit by nuking Japan
Nothing. But that doesn't stop the DPRK from benefiting from having the capability to nuke Japan. The DPRK is heavily dependent on aid from the West, having a nuclear stick allows it to demand aid on far more favourable terms and remain relevant on the world stage.
US-DPRK relations are an artifact of the cold war,
They're like that because the DPRK still acts like the Cold War is on, with cross border skirmishes with the South every few years at least. Not to mention the fact that the Korean War never officially ended.
You have more faith in the UN than I do.
UN doesn't enter into it. Japan is still essentially a protectorate of the United States of America -- nuking Japan would be legally equivalent to nuking Hawaii in international law, and the response would be just as swift.
Ummm, you're off by a decade or two if you think the kidnapping stuff comes from Bush.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_abductions_of_Japanese
There are lots of other hits too. And that isn't even beginning to touch what undercover reporter have exposed from within North Korea. Did ya know that human tastes like pork? How about opium being more profitable a crop than any grain while costing less in upkeep than the populace the grain would have fed. Ya don't think that the CIA was alone in exchanging drugs, guns, and cash, do you? How about these reporters?
http://cbs13.com/local/north.korea.americans.2.963243.html
Invading Iraq was a geo-polical move, possibly a bad one, but that won't be known for a few more years. North Korea, the country that invaded South Korea, is actual dangerous if you live in Japan or South Korea. Kim has successfully, and repeatedly, extorted aid and concessions by threatening his neighbors then backing off if he is just given what he demands. This was with both the Bush and Clinton administrations. Russia and China tolerate him, as he is their geo-political bishop piece.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
Strangely enough, there was a time when this looked like it was happening. Back in 2000, Korea (north and south) marched under the same flag as tensions eased. Kim was portrayed as 'cuddly' in the SK media as there was some expectation that people would come to the table and conciliation might occur. Of course, it didn't pan out that way and before you knew it, Kim was once again painted as a nutso nutjob nutter. It's all about perception and how it 'plays' to portray them.
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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Depends on the telemetry they were getting. If they laced sensors throughout the rocket and were transmitting back every last detail, then yes, they will have learned a hell of a lot.
Chances are they didn't, which means they won't know what warning signs were evident, nor will they know precisely what bit failed, nor will they know how it failed or even exactly when it failed.
Yes, failure can tell you a lot. Rolls Royce experimented with deliberately burning out their early aircraft engines to see where the points of failure were. They then re-engineered those parts. Not long after, they had perhaps the world's most powerful, most reliable engine built.
A parallel would be for North Korea to do static test after static test, each time pushing the engine up to (and maybe beyond) design limits to see what fails, then re-design that part. Static tests can only tell you so much, but this would eliminate what are probably very fundamental design flaws.
That is not the direction they are going, however. They are opting for political showmanship. A very dangerous form of showmanship at that.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Perfect. From the link you provided:
Unha-2, which was launched at the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground in Hwadae County, North Hamgyong Province at 11:20 on April 5, Juche 98 (2009), accurately put Kwangmyongsong-2 into its orbit at 11:29:02, nine minutes and two seconds after its launch.
The satellite is going round the earth along its elliptic orbit at the angle of inclination of 40.6 degrees at 490 km perigee and 1 426 km apogee. Its cycle is 104 minutes and 12 seconds.
Mounted on the satellite are necessary measuring devices and communications apparatuses.
The satellite is going round on its routine orbit.
It is sending to the earth the melodies of the immortal revolutionary paeans "Song of General Kim Il Sung" and "Song of General Kim Jong Il" and measured information at 470 MHz. By the use of the satellite the relay communications is now underway by UHF frequency band.
With that kind of info, there should be dozens of observatories that should be able to spot it. Or HAM radio guys to find the signal it's broadcasting.
Anyone been looking for it yet?
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
The GP was NOT talking about enemy combatants but about this guy: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/11/5/94852/0804 He's now suing the govts involved and will likely get a big payout as the authorities' treatment of him was totally abhorrent.