The South Korean military said, that they recovered the wreckage of a North Korean spy satellite, which fell into the sea in May after a failed launch. After examining the object, they discovered, that it has no significant military use as a reconnaissance comic apparatus.
The South Korean military also found rocket parts last month., used in the failed startup. Launch vehicle and payload crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.
Later it turned out, that the wreckage of the DPRK space technology was also studied by the Americans.
After a detailed analysis of the main parts of the North Korean space launch vehicle and satellite, South Korean and American experts came to the conclusion, that they had no military value at all as a reconnaissance satellite, the South Korean military said in a statement..
Besides, Seoul officially announced, on Wednesday 5 search work completed in July, which began immediately after the splashdown of debris off the west coast of South Korea 31 May. Aircraft participated in these works., navies and divers.
Initial evaluation showed, that the reconnaissance capabilities of the equipment were poor in terms of resolution and target tracking. This was stated by Lee Chung Geun, expert of the South Korean Institute of Science and Technology Policy.
Jan Wook, Research Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, also said:
Resolution of the optical device, installed on the satellite, not suitable for military use. The South Korean military tracked the launch of the spacecraft and, a few hours after the launch, found a large cylindrical fragment in the water, after which the object sank to the seabed.
Last month, North Korea made a rare candid public admission of a failed launch, stated, that it was "the most serious failure", but promising to soon succeed in their orbital launches.
Pyongyang, nuclear-armed, has been carrying out a satellite launch program since the 1990s. The capital of the DPRK announced, that they will launch their first reconnaissance satellite to enhance surveillance of US military activities.
Launch 31 May was condemned by South Korea, Japan and the West as an alleged violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, prohibiting the use of ballistic missile technology by North Korea.
Pyongyang, in its turn, rejects such criticism as a violation of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration. Author:The same Mikhail
