THE NORTH KOREAN SATELLITE

NORTH KOREA'S ROCKET VICTORY HAS DEEP CONSEQUENCES

Sam Kim and Peter Enav (AP)

The Huffington Post, December 12, 2012

After several failures, including one this spring, North Korea successfully launched a satellite into space Wednesday, an achievement met with cheers in Pyongyang and trepidation almost everywhere else.

North Korea says it wanted a satellite to help track the weather and send back data. But the United States, South Korea and their allies see the Unha-3 rocket that launched it as a potential weapon, theoretically capable of delivering high-impact munitions as far as California.

Even traditional backers Russia and China expressed worry about the launch. Moscow had urged Pyongyang to cancel the space bid and Beijing conspicuously withheld its approval.

Here are some key points about the launch:

GETTING INTO ORBIT

The Unha-3 is a three-stage "carrier rocket" with a range that experts estimate is about 10,000 kilometers (6,300 miles).

That was enough to get the Kwangmyongsong satellite into orbit – a historic victory for North Korean scientists who had four failures since 1998, including April's first-stage flameout 90 seconds after launch.

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