Posted on 04/06/2009 10:52:18 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Satellite image shows N. rocket flying northeast while emitting flame
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean rocket that apparently failed to put a satellite in orbit initially flew northeast after blasting off from its launch pad, emitting a long trail of fumes and generating a massive flame, a satellite image showed Tuesday.
North Korea on Sunday launched a three-stage rocket that it claimed successfully orbited a communication satellite after being launched from the Musudan-ri base on its east coast.
South Korea and the United States dispute the claim, suspecting the launch was a banned test of a long-range ballistic missile theoretically capable of hitting Alaska.
"The missile's exhaust plume can be seen, and the flame from the burning propellant registers in the imagery as a solid white mark," the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said, citing a commercial satellite photo taken by DigitalGlobe.
The think-tank said the photo, dated April 5, "appears to have caught the Musudan-ri missile in flight," adding the terrain below is only a few kilometers away from the launch pad.
Best shot I have seen on the web to date.
What a bunch of lying scum-bags in North Korea, claiming to have successfully put a satellite into orbit... LOL...
Thanks, JJ, for the ping. Very interesting.
Great stuff. We can get a good idea on the launch angle/bearing that the damn thing traveled Sunday. We can try to project what target they were aiming at. We can see weather at the site, we can look at the plume for clues on the fuel as well, too. Good civvie stuff. Unthinkable (for average folks to have) with the race with the Russkies back in the 1960s.
Some young Carlos Hathcock probably hit it with a Barrett .50 just after it launched. With complicated rockets, 99.99% of things working correctly leaves some 7,000 things to go wrong. A big fat hole in a big fat fuel tank can’t be good for success.
It’s for domestic consumption. The Dear Leader can’t really be shown to have FAILED to put a satellite in orbit after having shot an 18 on his first ever round of golf.
God-men don’t fail. And they don’t fail to tell lies.
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