All news

North Korea to make another military satellite launch attempt in October

Thursday’s launch ended in failure due to problems experienced in the third stage of the carrier rocket’s flight, namely an error in the emergency blasting system

TOKYO, August 24. /TASS/. North Korea is poised to make the third attempt to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in October, the country’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"Explaining that the cause of the relevant accident is not a big problem in aspect of the reliability of cascade engines and the system, the NADA [National Aerospace Development Administration] expressed the stand that it would conduct the third reconnaissance satellite launch in October after thoroughly probing the reason and taking measures," the report says.

Thursday’s launch ended in failure due to problems experienced in the third stage of the carrier rocket’s flight, namely an error in the emergency blasting system.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, fragments of the rocket splashed down in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. No damage was reported.

North Korea’s previous launch attempt was held on May 31. The Chollima-1 rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite fell into the Yellow Sea due to second-stage engine issues and fuel instability. The North Korean authorities announced plans to carry out another launch in the near future after troubleshooting the relevant issues.