Malligyong (space satellites)

2023: Launch failure

On May 31, 2023, North Korea's attempt to launch its first spy satellite, the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance spacecraft, failed. The DPRK authorities have already announced their intention to re-launch after a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the accident.

The Chollima-1 rocket with the Malligyong-1 satellite launched from the Sohe cosmodrome on the west coast of the DPRK in Pyongan-Pukto province. The launch was made on May 31, 2023 at 6:27 local time. According to the Korean Central Telegraph Agency, shortly after launch, the rocket crashed off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. The crash, according to preliminary information, occurred due to problems in the engine system: the carrier lost traction after the separation of the first stage. The failure occurred in the second stage power unit, the statement said.

According to the National Aerospace Development Administration of North Korea (NADA), the Malligyong-1 device was supposed to operate in orbit approximately 500 km high. The onboard equipment included a monochromatic camera and a multispectral shooting system. It was assumed that the satellite would be able to transmit images of the Earth at a "resolution of up to 20 meters." After an unsuccessful launch, the wreckage of the rocket and spacecraft fell into the Yellow Sea.

Rocket Chollima-1

At the same time, Kim Yo Jong, sister of the Supreme Leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, said that North Korea would re-launch a launch vehicle with a reconnaissance satellite, as Pyongyang "moved to expand its surveillance capabilities" from space.

Undoubtedly, the military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly launched into space orbit in the near future and will begin its mission, "said Kim Yo Jong during a speech following the crash of the Chollima-1 rocket.[1]

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