http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/fears-out-of-control-north- korean-satellite-could-crash-back-to-earth-8412857.html
The satellite that North Korea claims it launched into orbit yesterday, amid allegations of long-range missile tests, is tumbling out of control, US officials have said. Officials told NBC news said that the device is some kind of space vehicle, but that they haven't established what it is supposed to do. According to officials the object, which was launched at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday, has an unstable trajectory and could crash land back to earth. Whilst seemingly admitting the object is a space vehicle, the US continued to condemn what they called a rocket launch, calling it a 'provocative act.' The United Nations security council have called it a 'clear violation' of UN resolutions. A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "deplores" the launch. It is thought that the problems with the unidentified object, which North Korea claims is a weather satellite, could cause it to collide with other orbiting vehicles, or indeed come crashing back to back down earth. Norad, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, detected the launch of the missile at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Officials have claimed initially the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea and the second stage fell into the Philippine Sea. North Korea has claimed that the launch was an attempt to place a satellite into a pole-to-pole orbit. The official KNCA news agency said the rocket was launched from Sohae Satellite Launch Center and that the Kwangmyongsong weather satellite went into orbit as planned. US officials, who have not yet identified what the object actually was, have claimed the launch was a thinly veiled attempt to test a three-stage ballistic missile with the ability to hit the US West Coast. William Hague MP, the British Foreign Secretary, was also among the international figures who described the launch - which defied a world ban on ballistic missile tests - as 'provocative'. China, which is North Korea's only diplomatic ally, had urged the secretive country not to go ahead with the launch. Today, Russia added to the international condemnation that greeted the launch: "The new rocket launch carried out by North Korea flaunts the opinion of the international community, including calls from the Russian side," it said. In 2009 a one-ton Russian satellite with a nuclear reactor collided with a 1200-pound American orbiter over Siberia. The resultant debris was as large as a school bus and reentered the atmosphere. It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. _______________________________________________ Please be sure to include a URL to the article. Reply to the sender with a "Thank you" if you like this post. _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
