| Space Launch Report: Unha 2 Data Sheet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Unha 2 (Taepo Dong 2)
North Korea first launched its "Unha-2" rocket
from Musudan-ri
in the northeast of the country on April 5, 2009. The launch occurred at 02:30 UTC.
No confirmation of the planned Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite orbital insertion
was subsequently reported. North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S.
Northern Command did not track any objects entering orbit, but called the "Taepo Dong
2 missile" a "space launch vehicle".
Taepo Dong 2 first flew on July 5, 2006. The rocket,
believed to have been attempting a suborbital test, failed after only 40 seconds.
Taepo Dong 2's big new first stage is thought to be powered by four engines, one of which
powered the country's earlier Taepo Dong 1 first stage. The four engines may produce
112 tonnes of liftoff thrust, sufficient to rapidly lift the 78 tonne launch vehicle.
Vehicle Configurations (Estimates Only)
* Some references claim fuel is "Tonka
250", a mixture that includes kerosene, rather than UDMH An
Analysis of North Korea’s Unha-2 Launch Vehicle, David Wright, Union of Concerned
Scientists, March 20, 2009 Last Update: April 10, 2009 |
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Unha-2 is
believed to be a three-stage rocket derived from North Korea's Taepo Dong 2 ballistic
missile - a missile that first flew, unsuccessfully, in 2006. Japanese authorities
reported that the rocket's first stage fell into the Sea of Japan and that the second
stage had flown over Japan on a due-east trajectory. Prior to the launch, North
Korea announced that the first stage would fall 500-750 km downrange and that the second
stage would fall 3,150-3,950 km downrange. South Korean officials said that
the second stage had landed short of its planned drop zone, implying a possible second
stage failure. Other reports suggested that the second stage did reach full range,
implying a separation or third stage failure. 
North Korea's first orbital space launch attempt
occurred on August 31, 1998. That failed launch was performed by a Taepo Dong
1 rocket. Taepo Dong 1 used a solid motor third stage, a Scud-missile-based second
stage, and a "Rodong-1" based first stage. Rodong-1 was a North
Korean-developed stage thought to be a scale-up of the old Soviet Scud missile.
Taepo Dong 1 stood 22.5 meters tall, was 1.8 meters in diameter, and weighed about 21
tonnes.