North Korean Chollima-1 maiden launch ends in second stage failure – sets off neighbours’ alarms

by | May 31, 2023 | Launches, Military space, Satellites, Seradata News

North Korea attempted to orbit a military reconnaissance satellite Malligyeong-1 using its new Chollima-1 rocket from a pad at the Sohae launch site at 0629 GMT on 30 May 2023.  While the first stage operated successfully and was separated during normal flight the rest of the new Chollima-1 rocket with the satellite aboard crashed into the West Sea of Korea, 200 km west of Eocheong. The official cause according to the North Korean National Space Development Agency (NSDA) was a loss of propulsion on the second stage due to an abnormal start-up/ignition of the second stage engine due to an apparent instability in either the engine or the fuel system. The Chollima-1 (aka Cheonlima-1) launch vehicle is thought to have at least three stages.

Recovered stage from North Korean Chollima-1 launch Courtesy: NK News via Twitter

The failed launch, apparently, given the South-westerly track, was heading for a near polar Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. The failure caused missile attack warnings in South Korea and Japan.  Debris including some intact stages, was fished out of the sea by South Korean authorities.

Chollima-1 launches on its ill-fated maiden flight. Courtesy: KCNA

About Seradata

Seradata produces the renowned Seradata database. Trusted by over 100 of the world’s leading Space organisations, Seradata is a fully queryable database used for market analysis, failure/risk assessment, spectrum analysis and space situational awareness (SSA).

For more information go to https://www.seradata.com/product/

Related Articles

Categories

Archives

Tags

nasaspacexecoreviewsissesaArianespacevideochinaFalcon 9v1.2FT Block 525virgin galacticULAfalcon 9evaRoscosmosspacewalkDGAaviation weekBlue OriginInternational Space StationaresIGTsoyuzRocket LabBeidouawardsStarlinkspaceAirbus DSboeingSatellite broadcastingrussiamoonOneWebISROCargo Return VehiclemarsblogresearchspaceshiptwoorionjaxamarsimpactdelayhyperbolaEutelsatdemocratrocketlunarhypertextobamagoogle lunar prizelaunchVegathales alenia spaceSESconstellationtourismbarack obamafiguresnorthspaceflightIntelsatnode 2fundedRaymond Lygo2009Lockheed MartinExpress MD-2Elon MuskAtlas Vromess2dassault aviationsstlaviationLucy2008wk2ukradiosuborbitaltestmissiledocking portexplorationAriane 5 ECAVirgin OrbitinternetSLSLong March 2D/2ElectronNorthrop GrummanChina Manned Space Engineeringsts-122Ariane 5missile defensenewspapercotsgalileospace tourismflight2010Long March 4CspaceportExpress AMU 1buildspace stationaltairsoyuz 2-1aProton Minternational astronautical congressshuttlespace shuttleAriane 6scaled compositesIntelsat 23European Space AgencyLauncherOneCosmoshanleybudgetrulesnew yorkatvVietnamshenzhoucongressMojaveboldennew shepardLong March 2CInmarsatOrbital ATKcnesiaclunar landerGuiana Space CenterApollolawsUS Air ForceSpace Systems/LoralUK Space AgencyLong March 4BKuaizhou 1AkscprotonILSdarpaTalulah RileyVega CElectron KSFalcon 9v1.2 Block 5North KoreaeuSkylonAstriumlanderbaseusaastronautdragonpicturefiveeventTelesatSSLAprilSNC50thinterviewSea LaunchLong MarchfalconWednesdaycustomerlinkatlantissuccessor

Stay Informed with Seradata

Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.