North Korea, Japan fail in bid to launch reconnaissance rockets into space

 

TOKYO, Japan – Both North Korea and Japan failed in the early hours of thursday to launch military reconnaissance aircraft into space for various reasons.

That of North Korea failed largely due to issues related to rapid fuel supply, while that of Japan has been traced to engine failure during third stage of the flight.

However, as soon as it failed, fragments of North Korean carrier rocket that was expected to put into the orbit the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, splashed down in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, a spokesperson for Japan’s Defense Ministry told reporters on Thursday.

“Two rocket fragments fell into the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. One more fragment crossed the airspace between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako and fell 600 km east of the Philippines, also outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone,” she said.

In the early hours of Thursday, Japan also made its second attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the launch ended in failure due to problems experienced during the third stage of its flight.

On May 31, North Korea attempted to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite.
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.