Korean Committee of Space Technology

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Korean Committee of Space Technology
조선우주공간기술위원회
Agency overview
Formed 1980s
Jurisdiction Government of North Korea
Minister responsible Kim Yong-Chun, Minister of People's Armed Forces
Agency executive Ryu Kum Chol, Deputy director of Space Development Department of Korean Committee for Space Technology

The Korean Committee of Space Technology (KCST; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선우주공간기술위원회, Hanja: 朝鮮宇宙空間技術委員會) is the agency of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) responsible for the country's space program.

Contents

History

Very little information on it is publicly available. It is known to have been founded sometime in the 1980s,1 and most likely is connected to the Artillery Guidance Bureau of the Korean People's Army.

Operations

The KCST is responsible for all operations concerning space exploration and construction of satellites. On 12 March 2009 North Korea signed the Outer Space Treaty and the Registration Convention,2 after a previous declaration of preparations for a new satellite launch.

Facilities

KCST operates the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and Sohae Satellite Launching Station rocket launching sites, Baekdusan-1 and Unha (Baekdusan-2) launchers, Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellites.

Tonghae site was built in the 1980s and 1990s with a launch pad completed in 1985; the Sohae site was built from the 1990s to 2000s with completion sometime in 2011.

Projects

The DPRK twice announced that it launched satellites: Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 on August 31, 1998 and Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 on April 5, 2009. The USA and South Korea predicted that the launches would in actuality be military ballistic missile tests, but later confirmed that they had followed orbital launch trajectories

In 2009 DPRK announced more ambitious future space projects including own manned space flights and development of a manned partially reusable launch vehicle.3 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 was launched on April 13, 2012 and ended in failure shortly after launch.4 A followup attempt the following December, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2, entered polar orbit as confirmed by various countries. The government hailed this launch as its first successful one, contradicting earlier claims.

Launches

Name Launched Mission Status Purpose
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 using Paektusan 31 August 1998 Failed to reach orbit experimental satellite launch
Unha-1 4 July 2006 Unknown status rocket test
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 using Unha-2 5 April 2009 Fate of payload unknown Communications satellite launch
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 using Unha-3 13 April 2012 Failed observation satellite launch
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 using Unha-3 12 December 2012 Successful launch Observation satellite launch

Gallery

  • Unha-3 rocket

See also

References

  1. ^ Despite Clinton, Korea has rights. February 25, 2009
  2. ^ "KCNA Report on DPRK's Accession to International Space Treaty and Convention". KCNA. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
  3. ^ "朝鲜宣布发展太空计划抗衡"西方强权"". Rodong Sinmun. 2009-02-08. Retrieved February 26, 2009. 
  4. ^ "North Korea rocket launch 'fails'". April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012. 
North Korean space program
Organizations
Committee of Space Technology
Facilities
Space launch vehicles
Programs
Satellites
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