N Korea rocket launch reportedly fails

LA Times ^ | April 12, 2012 | 4:22 pm | staff

[gandalftb]

North Korea launched a three-stage rocket from a missile base near the west coast city of Sinuiju today, claiming that it was carrying a weather satellite of purely civilian use.

Its projected trajectory was almost due south on a course 150 miles east of Shanghai. The second stage of the rock was to splash down east of the Philippines, which prompted Manila to cancel northbound flights as a precaution.

Initial network news reports said the rocket failed during flight.

[gandalftb]

Here we go.

[gandalftb]

The Unha-3 rocket with the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite payload launched from the Sohae launch site at Tongch’ang-dong.

The Kwangmyongsong-3 is a 100 kg box-shaped satellite
1.4 x 0.6 x 0.7m in size with body-mounted solar panels.

Unha-3 is a three stage vehicle; stage 1 is 2.40m in diameter, stage 2 is about 1.5m in diameter, and stage 3 is about 1.2m in diameter.

The first two stages were to fly south on an azimuth that would lead to an 88 degree inclination orbit; the third stage was expected to make a yawed burn that if successful will result in a 500 km, 97.4 deg inclination sun-synchronous orbit.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Where is that Laser Beam 747 parked????

[FlingWingFlyer]

I’ll bet a lot of the locals went in during the night and siphoned off some of the fuel to burn in their cars.

[DManA]

The rocket, named Unha-3

Should have called it Kaboom-3

[MarineBrat]

It looks a little heavy to get to space.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[theDentist]

"The second stage of the rock was to splash down..."

Yeah, rocks aren't extremely flight-worthy over long distances. Even money says Carney tells the Press ODrama made it fail with the power of his mind and concentration.

[skeeter]

Looks like it failed upon exiting the Yellow Sea area, right about where it would make sense to intercept it if you were a Japanese AEGIS destroyer captain.

[Dengar01]

Aww someone posted epicfail in the keywords before me :(

The bozo invited the world media and they just embarrassed themselves to the world again....

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Clinton Democrats negotiating with Bernard Schwartz to get him in touch with NK.

[Hugin]

[Exit148]

I wonder what will happen to the scientists involved. Weren’t the olympic athletes, who didn’t bring home the gold, subjected to some sort of punishment?

[EternalVigilance]

[I Drive Too Fast]

Will North Korea’s newspapers call it a success?

[Justaham]

I wonder how many heads will roll and how many executions will happen due to this epic fail?

[gandalftb]

I’m seeing two conflicting reports:

A reported failure at T+90 seconds (first stage failure and possible shoot down intercept)

A reported impact 130 km S of Phillipines (second stage failure)

[NY.SS-Bar9]

[Red_Devil 232]

First stage failed 90 to 120 seconds into launch.

[Justaham]

Ha ha ha! Kim Jung (Fa)il!!!

[Snickering Hound]

[rmlew]

The Obama regime cancelled the ABL.

[snowsislander]

しかたがない、金さん。

[goseminoles]

#epic fail. Me, me... ;0)

[goseminoles]

That there’s funny. I don’t care who you are.

[Decombobulator]

Probably at least half the scientists who worked on the project. Their families too, or maybe they’ll only be sent to the work camps if they’re lucky.

[Dengar01]

Great minds think alike ;D

Maybe Obummer can send Madeline Halfbright over so she can pander to this loser. Since MJ is retired she can give him a Kobe or D Rose autographed Basketball. And maybe he'll "promise" to behave!

I will predict, Obummer will demand a strongly written statement. A real leader would nuke the damn facilities, and nuke the facilities in Iran instead of "sanctions" and "harsh statements"!!!

[skeeter]

Shigataganai, _ sun.

I give up - whats it mean?

[rdl6989]

Of course.

[gandalftb]

また金氏は理解することができます。 Pardon my Japanese.

[dfwgator]

I’m sure those responsible for the failure have already been blown to bits by mortars.

[BIGLOOK]

Just wondering if it even got out of vertical lift. The scanty data coming in says it went 150 miles.....up or down range?

I'd guess less than 20 miles and rained down on the PRK's brass' hats.

Happy 100th Birthday, Kim Il Sung! Many more!

[Strategerist]

Looks like it failed upon exiting the Yellow Sea area, right about where it would make sense to intercept it if you were a Japanese AEGIS destroyer captain.

Aegis cannot do a BMD intercept within the atmopshere.

Rest assured this wasn't shot down.

[Repeat Offender]

Failure to launch? There’s viagra for that.

[Strategerist]

The ABL was a pretty hopeless program.

[Leep]

So, dear leader’s rocket went limp..?

[grey_whiskers]

I imagine Iran is kind of pissed off.

(Yes I am aware of news reports that Iran had bought three Chinese ICBMs for $18 billion, and so (if true) they wouldn't need this missile; there still remains the possibility that Korea was meant to have a missile of their own to provide diversion / cover for Iran. And now that's out the window.)

Just wondering if Israel had ought to do with this? /tin-foil>

Cheers!

[Rocky]

No bok choy for the engineer in charge of that mission tonight.

[Roccus]

Nuclear test to follow shortly.

[LibLieSlayer]

Premature fragmentation.

LLS

[LibLieSlayer]

obama moth-balled it.

LLS

[LibLieSlayer]

If I ever need a security detail...

LLS

[windcliff]

As PeeWee Herman once said “I meant to do that”.

[skeeter]

Your implication is such a missile must use its first stage and then some just to exit the atmosphere?

[Molon Labbie]

Introducing the “IL” line of North Korean Rocketry:

IL Constructed
IL Maintained
IL Advised

[Carry_Okie]

I'll bet it was the computer system.

You can only do so much with a 6502.

[Jack Hydrazine]

He Kimee-san! How’s that juche working out for ya? LOL!

[Jeff Chandler]

[Carry_Okie]

Enter the march!

[expat2]

6502? Surely you mean a 4004.