North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket Launch Explained (Infographic)

In April, North Korea is expected to attempt to orbit its first Earth satellite. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

North Korea launched a new long-range rocket on April 13, which it said carried the country's first Earth-orbiting satellite, but the rocket broke apart shortly after liftoff and crashed into the sea. The Unha-3 rocket launch was scheduled to mark the 100th birthday of North Korea's founder Kim il-Sung, who founded the communist state in 1948 and sparked criticism from the U.S. and other countries over the rocket's potential use as a military weapon. Learn some of the scant details available of North Korea's April 2012 rocket launch plan in the SPACE.com infographic above.

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork). Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web. He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.