Slashdot Mirror
North Korea Shows Off Space Center and Launches Missile
Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that nobody would describe North Korea's mission control as imposing. It is a small, unremarkable, two-story building, tiny compared to Nasa's Houston home in America or Russia's space command. But the North's secretive regime, now headed by the third of the Kim dynasty to rule here, Kim Jong-un, is opening up, for the first time in an attempt to allay fears it is about to test missile technology that could deliver a warhead as far as America. 'Sixteen technicians man the satellite command center. Dressed in white coats, like doctors, they sit behind computer screens,' writes Damian Grammaticas. 'On a big screen are live pictures from the launch pad, showing North Korea's rocket being fueled up. The satellite it will carry has already been loaded on board, we are told.' Pyongyang says the minibar refrigerator-sized satellite covered with solar panels and golden foil to protect its instruments will broadcast martial music praising North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung and is designed to monitor weather, natural disasters and agriculture patterns. As the five-day window for North Korea's rocket launch opens today, the United States has warned a launch would be a breach of UN Security Council resolutions that ban the North from testing missile technology. If North Korea goes ahead it could lead to UN sanctions, it has warned. 'That's why we have invited you, to clearly show that this is a satellite launch not a ballistic missile,' says Paek Chang-ho, head of the satellite control center. 'I hope you become supporters in showing the transparency of our satellite launch.'" After all that North Korea decided to launch a missile anyway. From the article: "The three-stage rocket, called the Unha-3, blasted off from the Soehae launch site near North Korea’s western corner with China, at about 7:39 a.m., the South Korea Defense Ministry said."
Missle in the title, the summary AND the "from the pay-no-attention-to-the-missle-behind-the-curtain dept". That's gotta be a record.
After the launch...
South Korea Defense Ministry - "On this screen you can see we are detecting vast forms of life in outer space.."
BBC - "That looks a lot like the Pacific Ocean..."
In North Korea, they often shorten Missile to just Miss, so they don't have much experience with the full spelling.
Pretty sure it's a hemi-parasitic plant that for some reason people kiss under at Christmas. The author has just left off "toe".
Numerous news sites are reporting that the launch failed - it broke apart shortly after launch.
Better known as 318230.
Leave samzenpus alone, he can't help his lisp.
Yep, and the launch failed.
Of course, even a failed launch is still valuable information for North Korea, as that is part of the whole point of such tests.
And in the belly of an oddly-configured 747 flying just beyond North Korea's radar horizon, a scientist skilled in laser technology was heard to mutter, "Pull!"
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
The previous /. story covering the new US agreement to provide aid was filled with posts of optimism, and contempt for anyone expressing skepticism as old relics too hardened in their ways to accept the new dictator's good faith.
I'm still skeptical.
Seriously the hypocrisy of the Americans is astounding. In regards to this launch the North Koreans did everything by the book
- They applied to the international regulatory authorities for space launch approval and orbital slot
- They posted air and maritime notices
- They had the international press to tour the launch site
Now any other country doing this would not have any issues. But if it is Iran or North Korea then go fuck yourself because the Americans don't like you. Don't forget that after all these years Cuba still deserves that embargo, you know because they are such a threat to the Americans.
the "i" broke off just under a minute after posting.
Aside from the misspelling I find the use of the word missile versus rocket interesting. They are essentially the same thing but the two words certainly have different connotations.
Apparently the AP is reporting that the missile broke up shortly after lauch, and has called the launch a failure. This is not entirely true. The missile broke apart releasing millions of pieces of paper simply stating "You are happy. North Korea make great party. You are not hungry.". According to officials in North Korea the launch was a great success.
Kim Jong Il took more with him when he croaked than we thought.
The missile was supposed to mark Kim Jong Un's ascension to power, but it failed to rise to the occasion.
His family and anyone he works with and their families are in trouble.
I had Heroic Leader, or whats'is-name as my desktop for a long time, some painting where he's getting the serum through the storm or something. The Young One has BIG SHOES (size 5 or so) to fill. He's doing the best his people can make him look like he's doing.
Enjoy the show.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
Yes, one is designed to spawn fear and trepidation into the uneducated masses whilst the other is a peace time connotation for "WWWWEEEEEE we have packed, what is essentially 5 billion tons of explosives into this long tube and we hope it does what we want."
When the previous missiles were had names that were phonetically "Type O Dong", they were certain to work. Now that the missile names don't automatically lend themselves to silly jokes, they can't possibly work.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Ironically, some of the idiocy coming from California sounds remarkably like the rhetoric and propaganda from "dear leader"... couple that with the fact that they can't do anything right in California either... well, we're seeing distinct parallels.
The only thing missing in NK is a leader who actually believed he was abducted by aliens...
It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
They are mostly interchangeable
You said it yourself. Mostly. They have different connotations. Which is what he said. You're being obtuse.
... and hired SpaceX to launch their satellite.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
would this be like the hypocrisy that charles manson uses a gun, and the police use a gun, and so they are morally equivalent, and to criticize charles manson is hypocrisy?
or a burglar breaks into your home, and the government forces you to pay taxes, so its all the same thing: robbery... hypocrisy!
how about a drunk driver jumping the sidewalk and killing a pedestrian is the same as a drunk stumbling into a highway and getting hit... hypocrisy!
yeah hypocrisy! everything is morally equivalent!
please define the parameters in which the globally condemned mafia family who starves its people while it pursues nukes is the same as the government of the USA
bonus thought (if you can handle more than one thought at a time): it is not required to like the USA to agree with my comment. it is actually possible *gasp*, get this radical craziness!: to dislike North Korea, AND the USA, for different, REAL reasons... at the same time! no freakin way! for real?
rather than the genius level analysis you and parent poster demonstrate. "bad things from government A" = "bad things government B": hypocrisy!
durrr....duhh...
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
the Atlas vehicles were ICBMs IIRC.
that said, the space shuttle was pretty much 2 ICBMs strapped to a giant fuel tank with a little help from the SSMEs.
ya then promptly never get any contract anywhere but north korea....
who show up in every story that might possibly condemn another country
oh here they are:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2783493&cid=39668133
hey, geniuses: it's actually mentally possible to... drum roll please... get this far out idea:
1. dislike country XYZ, and
2. dislike the USA,
3. at the same time!
no freakin way! i know, radically subversive mental concept huh?
get this piece of really far out thinking: you can actually condemn North Korea, and, still dislike the USA? whoa, heavy stuff
you don't actually have to defend a rabid civilian starving nuke pursuing nutcase mafia regime, just because you dislike the USA?
i know, i know, crazy far out concept huh?
you don't actually have to side with the USA to condemn North Korea... hmmm... that's some deep, wacky stuff
you mean... think and act on principles, rather than think on moronic tribal oppositional posturing?
wow, how come i never thought of that!
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
If I were the head missile engineer, I'd likely know the odds of the launch failing - and with that in mind, I'd have arranged for some relatively comfortable means of suicide before being dragged off to the local version of gestapo.
On the television, they had someone that clarified "Missile vs Rocket", in that they are exactly the same except for a guidance system.
Eg, a rocket goes up and stops when it runs out of fuel or hits a target and detonates. A Missile has a guidance system to lock on to a target and deliver a payload.
The end result is the same, we generally reserve the word "Rocket" for the ones without guidance systems, as such the context is correct when you refer to RPG as Rocket Propelled Grenade, and the kinds used in fireworks.
Missiles can be magic. But a magic rocket is just stupid.
2*3*3*3*3*11*251
i'm sorry, i've patented that insult word in the context of internet flamewars. you owe me $5
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Do they have a Song of General Kim-Jong Un yet? Damn they used to send me copies of The Pyongyang Times (probably put me on some sort of list here in the US), but not recently...
A "rocket" is generally anything that is powered by a rocket engine. A rocket engine is one which carries its oxidizer and fuel together, rather than using oxygen from the air.
Of course, there's jet-powered missiles now (I believe the Tomahawk is one of these), so those, technically, do not qualify as "rockets".
WTF? Scientists and engineers working on rocket contracts don't get substantially different paychecks than scientists and engineers working on home appliances, toys, etc. A little more prestige, perhaps, but there's no difference in pay; they get the same lackluster pay that all non-managers and non-executives get. An engineer working at a rocket company who loses his job can go work somewhere else (assuming skills transfer; depends on the exact skills) and get the same paycheck, or probably better, since engineers need to quit their job every few years if they want a raise greater than inflation.
A missile is something you propel toward a target. Could be a spitwad, an arrow, or something carrying an explosive weapon. A rocket is a device that's propelled by the exhaust of gasses (and it's self-contained, unlike an air breathing jet engine). A rocket is generally a missile (unless it's tethered, etc), but a missile doesn't have to be propelled by a rocket.
They don't have much experience with Missile launches either.
It appears the launch failed, the second and third stage as well as the payload fell into the sea..
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
What did the Soviets offer? Death or a better life in a sealed elite science city/camp.
WW2 Germany? A uniform, party links, funding or risk falling out of favour and been consumed in lesser projects.
Post WW2 Germany? The French gave skilled Germans a factory job with the hint of going home.
The US offered a Paperclip like deal, a clean file, a new life or risk a court in Europe or Russia.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Read up on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whiteside_Parsons, wealth, politics, rockets, faith :)
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
everything since the V2 has had guidance though... you think NASA just pointed and hoped?
i thought that definition was "projectile"? some point in the late '90s it became fashionable to extend the definition of "missile" to "shit that an unruly highschool kid throws", just for emotive impact.
Aside from the misspelling I find the use of the word missile versus rocket interesting. They are essentially the same thing but the two words certainly have different connotations.
I don't really see much different between using the words rockets and missiles. They are mostly interchangeable.
V2 rockets, bottle rockets, "rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air", etc, show how historically rockets meant basically the same as missile.
Or even pocket rockets, or heat seeking missile (in a more urban slang usage)...
I may be mistaken, but I think even Nasa often called vehicle used in the Atlas program a missile.
You forgot Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light! Team Missile is, somehow, even more pathetic.
The end result is the same, we generally reserve the word "Rocket" for the ones without guidance systems, as such the context is correct when you refer to RPG as Rocket Propelled Grenade, and the kinds used in fireworks.
In the fighter jet world, it is generally broken down thusly:
Missile - Powered, guided (AIM-9/AIM-120/ALCM)
Rocket - Powered, unguided (2.75" FFAR)
Smart bomb - Guided, unpowered (JDAM)
Bomb - unpowered, unguided (regular MK-82 dumb bomb)
For large thingies:
Missile - Goes up, parts come down, guided, hopefully on target (ICBM)
Rocket - Goes up, parts stay in orbit or semi-orbit (first stages of an orbital vehicle/payload)
It's 2012, and the Chinese government is practically communist in name only. Actually, it's a pure totalitarian regime with a primary focus on self preservation of said regime. N.Korea is a problem for China because should the N.Korean government fall, there will be a flood of Korean refugees jumping the Chinese border. They simply don't want to be sucked into the geopolitical maelstrom that would ensue.
China will avoid taking sides, but in the end both China and Russa would side with the US come decision time. Not without a some minor threatening words first, but they would fold easily. It's all politics.
Life is not for the lazy.
China also likes having a buffer region between it and South Korea. That is another reason why they continue to prop North Korea up.
You forgot the magic bullet, which makes one mean margarita
I've never seen that word before...
I almost always write it that way, and when the spell-checker flags it I have genuine difficulty finding out what's wrong with it.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Well, they never seemed to have very good guidance, so they were definitely not a missile!
Cause of crash confirmed: they were holding it wrong.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Is this the same rocket that went for a swim in the Yellow sea today?
I have read this in a "Monty Python" announcer voice. I believe this that by doing this my night has been made. :)
Jet powered missiles are nothing new. The V1 used a pulsejet (a ramjet with a stammer).
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
That's pretty bad if the new leader's missle {sic} is only useful for a minute.
I thought he was was younger than that.
-AI
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
So what did California do? Did I miss something?
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
Maybe the second and third stages, as well as the orbital payload are just dummies which represent the payoad which willl ultimately be attached to the first stage.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Darn all typos and abbreviations. The North Koreans obviously meant to refer to their Missal doctrines...
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Another reason North Korea continues to exist is that South Korea looks on unification with horror, at least for now.
The South Koreans are all aware of the staggering economic hit that West Germany took in absorbing East Germany --- even though East was wealthier, relative to West, than North Koria is relative to South. So while the people of the South make occasional noises about unification, they back off hastily whenever the talk gets even semi-serious. It's also why the South continues sending food to the North --- a total collapse would be catastrophic for both Koreas.
On the other hand most readers will abandon their rationality and automatically condemn anything that does not come from the US sphere of influence, be it China, Russia or DPRK. This mixture of misguided patriotism and suppressed anger is especially obvious now that Western power is in steep decline
US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
Kim Jong Un was later heard to say, "should I not have eaten that?"
It's been used in military history & wargaming as long as I can remember, which is a long time before the late 90s.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
In the fighter jet world, it is generally broken down thusly:
Not seen one of those in the wild for some time, quick let me get my camera ;)
...NOT
wow, links to US and British sites, how trustworthy. Meanwhile real people who have been to DPRK report a completely different situation. Like tourists or exchange students, they are even some blogs on the net, stop being a pathetic brainwashed tool and educate yourself.
Just don't wander off the beaten path:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/12/content_8536078.htm
PYONGYANG, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) regrets the death of a South Korean tourist killed by a DPRK soldier but the woman should take full responsibility for the incident, a DPRK spokesman said Saturday.
South Korean government should take full responsibilities, make an apology to the DPRK and promise that a similar incident would never happen again, said the spokesman for the DPRK Guidance Bureau for Comprehensive Development of Scenic Spots.
I even linked to a mainland China news source instead. Happy?
R-r-r-amjet?
The hilarious part is that this is probably why all of their missile launches have been failures. If they keep killing or torturing the guys who are responsible for each failed launch, the next guys have to start from scratch without the benefits of learning exactly what went wrong. So let's let them keep doing this and laugh at how stupid and shortsighted they're being.
A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
So, compared to the U.S., North Korea are good guys? You're out of your mind.
Guess what. It's decision time.
Nobody says they have to unify. North Korea needs a new constitution and new, elected leadership.
Missiles sometimes miss, but rockets always rock.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
You can't polish a turdus.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Failed.
Shot down.
Same difference I guess.
Failed.
Shot down.
Same difference I guess.
There were threats by SK to shoot it down but, launched in broad daylight with the world press watching, you know that didn't happen.
Instead of shooting it down, I wouldn't be surprised to find some guy with a flash drive was involved.
(It would be a great deterrent to let it be known that "All your missiles are belong to U.S.")
Just saying...
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
The word "missile" has been in use since the 1600s and indeed does mean projectiles, including "shit that an unruly highschool kid throws". Rocks, arrows, bullets, rockets with warheads are all missles. Missiles with guidence systems are "guided missles." Rockets carrying people or sattellites are not. Rockets carrying warheads are.
I'm annoyed that so many are putting their own, INCORRECT definitions of "missile" and "rocket" in comments, and being modded up for it. Sad, folks at slashdot used to be a bit more educated than that.
Projectile is synonymous with missile. Rockeyt is not, even though a rocket can be a projectile.
Free Martian Whores!
That is the definition.
Don't any of you people have access to a dictionary? From Webster's:
Definition of MISSILE
1: capable of being thrown or projected to strike a distant object
2: adapted for throwing or hurling missiles
Origin of MISSILE
Latin missilis, from mittere to throw, send
First Known Use: 1611
A thrown rock is a missle, but there's no guidance system except your eye-hand coordination. By your (false) definition the Apollo rockets were missles, since they did indeed have guidance systems (BTW this week is the anniversary of Apollo 13).
A missile is a weapon. A rocket isn't necessarily. A rocket whose purpose is destruction is a missile, and if it has a guidance system it's a guided missile. If its purpose is other than destroying something it's just a rocket, guided or not.
The Korean missile was designed for destruction. Missile is a far more accurate term than "rocket" in that context.
Free Martian Whores!
Aside from the misspelling I find the use of the word missile versus rocket interesting.
It's a rocket when it goes up, a missle when it comes down. A thrown rock is a missle. And this wasn't designed for speceflight, it was designed to carry a destructive payload, which is what makes it a missle.
Free Martian Whores!