South Korean military authorities have salvaged North Korea’s first spy satellite after its failed first launch last month, based on media reports.
North Korea attempted to launch the satellite on May 31, however the rocket carrying it suffered an unknown failure and crashed into the ocean shortly after liftoff. The satellite, often called Malligyong-1, is reported to be designed to take high-resolution images of Earth to offer intelligence for the reclusive country’s military.
Pieces of debris believed to be the Chollima Type 1 rocket used for the mission were recovered just days after the attempted launch, Reuters reported on June 15. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency is now reporting that the South Korean military has salvaged “an object believed to be a military reconnaissance satellite,” offering a precious opportunity to learn in regards to the spacecraft and its planned capabilities.
Related: North Korea says its rocket launch failed, 1st spy satellite lost
Near 180 pieces of debris were reported to have landed within the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula, based on the report.
Unnamed military sources told Yonhap News Agency that “various wreckage has been collected from the positioning,” and “the salvage operation and related activities are continuing.” The suspected satellite has been transferred to a military research facility in Daejeon, South Korea for further evaluation.
North Korea has previously launched satellites to orbit, once in 2012 and again in 2016, but neither was believed to be designed to gather intelligence as Malligyong-1 was. Some analysts think these launches were meant to offer cover or research for the nation’s widely condemned missile program.
The hermit kingdom has been conducting tests of sophisticated missile technologies in recent times, a few of that are believed to be able to reaching so far as the continental United States. Because the failed launch of the nation’s first spy satellite shows, nevertheless, it stays unclear how advanced the nation’s space and missile programs actually are.