Kwangmyongsong-2
Kwangmyongsong-2 as it would have looked in orbit in a 2009 computer graphic video
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| Mission type | Communication/Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | KCST |
| Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 April 2009, 02:20:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Unha-2 |
| Launch site | Tonghae |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 490 kilometres (300 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,426 kilometres (886 mi) |
| Inclination | 40.6 degrees |
| Period | 104.2 minutes |
| Epoch | Claimed |
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 or Gwangmyeongseong-2 (Chosungul: 광명성 2호, Hanja: 光明星 2號, meaning Bright Star-2 or Lode Star-2) was a satellite launched by North Korea on 5 April 2009.
Prior to the launch, concern was raised by other nations, particularly the United States, South Korea and Japan that the launch would test technology that could be used in the future to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. The launch of the rocket was sharply condemned by the United States and the European Union, while the People's Republic of China and Russia urged restraint. On 13 April 2009, the United Nations Security Council issued a Presidential Statement condemning the launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006). One day after, on 14 April 2009, North Korea called the Presidential Statement an infringement on a country's right for space exploration embodied in the Outer Space Treaty and withdrew from Six Party Talks.
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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