North Korea: Rocket Is Good, Satellite Not So Much
More bad news for North Korea on the first anniversary of dearly departed leader Kim Jong-il's death: the satellite it launched into orbit last week is not only tumbling out of control, but is also likely completely dead, astronomers say. "It's tumbling and we haven't picked up any transmissions," Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks space activity, told the New York Times. "Those two things are most consistent with the satellite being entirely inactive at this point." Meaning that while North Korea did manage to put its satellite in the right orbit--a technological feat in itself--the Democratic People's Republic is still far from being a space power. Or even a space lightweight.
[NYT]
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