North Korean Rocket Carrying Its Second Spy Satellite Explodes Midair

North Korean Rocket Carrying Its Second Spy Satellite Explodes Midair
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

North Korea's latest effort to launch its second spy satellite failed.

North Korean Rocket Carrying Second Spy Satellite Explodes

North Korea informed Japan's coast guard earlier on Monday about its intentions to launch "a satellite rocket," along with a warning to be cautious in the waters east of the major Philippine island of Luzon and between the Korean Peninsula and China during a launch window that runs from Monday through June 3.

Nevertheless, on Monday, the North Korean rocket carrying its second spy satellite burst midair. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that it had successfully launched a spy satellite on a brand-new rocket at its primary northwest space site. However, KCNA reported that a suspected engine malfunction caused the rocket to explode during a first-stage flight shortly after liftoff.

Later, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea announced that at 10:44 p.m. on Monday, they had seen a launch trajectory that appeared to be that of a spy satellite launched from the North's main space complex. Afterward, "many fragments of the projectile were detected in North Korean waters, and the U.S. and South Korea are analyzing whether it had an operational flight," according to the JCS.

Following North Korea's launch, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office issued a missile alert for Okinawa. Shortly later, the alarm was withdrawn.

An orange light could be seen in the sky, followed a moment later by what appeared to be an explosion, according to a previous report from Japan's NHK public television. The camera was located in northeastern China.

The National Aerospace Technology Administration of the United States stated that the satellite "exploded in the air during the first flight stage and failed to launch."

The official Korean Central news agency said in a statement that an "expert review concluded that the cause of the accident was the operational reliability of the newly developed liquid oxygen and oil engine."

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South Korea and North Korea In a Race To Launch Spy Satellites

South Korea and North Korea have both launched spy satellites. North Korea succeeded in putting a spy satellite into orbit in November.

In response to North Korea's increasing missile and nuclear threats, South Korea planned to launch four more surface-to-air reconnaissance (SAR) satellites will be launched into orbit by 2025, starting with an EO/IR satellite in December. South Korea said it would launch two military surveillance satellites this year, and it successfully launched its second spy satellite in April, just weeks before North Korea's failed attempt.

Two failed liftoffs already followed North Korea's successful November launch.

On the first attempt, the satellite-carrying North Korean rocket plunged into the water shortly after takeoff. According to North Korean officials, the rocket's propulsion was lost after its first and second stages separated. As for the second attempt, North Korea claimed that a fault occurred in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.