North Korea Satellite Out Of Control: Why This Is Very Bad News

North Korea Satellite Out Of Control: Why This Is Very Bad News


After failing miserably on numerous occasions, North Korea has finally put a satellite in orbit. But according to US officials, it is now “tumbling out of control”. This is really bad news.

NORAD detected the launch yesterday at 7.49pm Eastern Time (11.49am AEDT). The rocket passed over Japan on its way to orbit. Its first stage splashed down into the Yellow Sea, while the second one fell on the Philippine Sea. Soon after that, the United States and most countries with space tracking capabilities confirmed the launch success: whatever it was carrying, it reached orbit. According to Kim Jong-Un’s regime, it’s a “weather satellite” on a polar orbit, going in the same direction as an Earth meridian.

Except it’s really going anywhere: talking to NBC News, US Officials are saying that the “space object” is tumbling out of control.

Why it is bad news for everyone

The most obvious bad news is that this is quite dangerous, as this object has now become a collision risk to other satellites.

The first collision between two satellites happened in 2009, when an American 560kg Iridium communications satellite launched in 1997 collided with a dead one-ton Russian satellite launched in 1993. At the time, NASA blamed the Russians.

The collision wasn’t only bad for the functioning Iridium, but also to everyone else. Space is a big place, but it’s full of junk. And like that accident proved, collisions happen.

We can track quite small debris, but space crashes generate particles that may not be tracked. The thousands of objects that may result from such an accident put other satellites, spaceships and the life of astronauts at risk.

The other bad news is that, while nobody really knows if this is a satellite or not, all countries are assuming it has been an attempt to disguise the test of a three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile. One that can easily reach the United States or Russia. And it worked.

The only bit of good news is that the lack of precision that probably led to a spinning satellite is proof of North Koreans’ ineptitude when it comes to design and control these long-range weapons. Putting an ICBM in space is not all you need to, say, drop a couple of nuclear warheads over Los Angeles. You need precision guiding systems for that, something that Kim Jong-un’s boffins don’t seem to have mastered quite yet.

But then again, a nuclear warhead falling anywhere will definitely be very bad news anyway, no matter how precise it is. You can track the satellite real-time right here.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.