Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3
 |
|
| Mission type |
Earth observation Weather forecasting Technology demonstration |
|---|---|
| Operator | KCST |
| Mission duration | 2 years (planned) Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Institute of Military Electronics |
| Launch mass | ~100 kilograms (200 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 April 2012, 22:38:55 UTC |
| Rocket | Unha-3 |
| Launch site | Sohae |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Perigee | 500 kilometres (300 mi) |
| Apogee | 500 kilometres (300 mi) |
| Epoch | Planned |
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 (Chosŏn'gŭl: 광명성 3호; Hancha: 光明星3號; English: Bright Star-3 or Lode Star-3) was a North Korean Earth observation satellite, which according to the DPRK was for weather forecast purposes, and whose launch was widely portrayed in the West to be a veiled ballistic missile test. The satellite was launched on 13 April 2012 at 07:39 KST aboard the Unha-3 carrier rocket from Sohae Satellite Launching Station. The rocket exploded 90 seconds after launch near the end of the firing of the first stage of the rocket. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic. On 1 December 2012 North Korea announced that a replacement satellite would be launched between 10 and 22 December 2012. After a delay and extending the launch window to 29 December,the rocket was launched on 12 December.
The name "Kwangmyŏngsŏng" is richly symbolic for North Korean nationalism and the Kim family cult. Even though the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was born in the village of Vyatskoye near Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East,DPRK sources claim Kim was born on Mount Paektu, and on that day a bright lode star (kwangmyŏngsŏng) appeared in the sky, so everyone knew a new general had been born.
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