North
Korea's
Pyongyang's Taepodong-2 missile launch is under the watchful eyes of both U.S. military and civilian satellites.
The
looming liftoff of the missile flies in the face of stern warnings from both
the United States and Japan. Meanwhile, numbers of reports suggest that fueling
of the rocket has been completed, although bad weather in the launch area could
delay the flight.
The
Taepodong-2 missile is purportedly capable of reaching a target nearly 3,000
miles away, thus putting in range, for example, United States territory.
Mark
Brender, Vice President, Communications & Marketing for GeoEye of Dulles,
Virginia, told SPACE.com that their Orbview-3 and IKONOS commercial
remote sensing satellites have repeatedly taken snapshots of North Korea's Taepo Dong launch complex in the northeast part of the country.
GeoEye
satellite imagery has documented the work leading up to the rocket's takeoff.
Satellite launch attempt?
Globalsecurity.org
based in Alexandria, Virginia--a watchdog and think tank group on security
issues--has also kept an eye on North Korea's missile work.
"If
this launch does not occur within the next few weeks then it must be assumed
that some political policy and or technical issue have scrubbed this attempt
for some unknown period," reported Charles Vick, a senior fellow of
the group that specializes in Russian, Chinese, Iranian and North Korean
ballistic missiles and space boosters analysis.
Vick
has reported that the North Korean missile is likely topped with a
communications satellite.
Preparations
for the possible orbital test launch of the Taep'o-dong-2C/3 have been
monitored using a number of assets, Vick reported. Based on open press reports,
he said, U.S. intelligence-gathering operations about the rocket preparations
have included U-2 spy plane or space-based spysats, as well as Japanese imaging
observation satellites.
Vick
stated that the booster's payload is assumed to be a communications satellite.
"The
fact that the launch site is above ground exposed where a very great deal can
be observed certainly holds that this is a satellite launch attempt not a
strategic ballistic missile operation," Vick reported on the Globalsecurity.org
web site. "If the launch were to occur from a coffin launch site or a large
silo facility then it would be an easily recognizable strategic systems test. A
true full range ICBM flight test is not at this time expected out of North Korea," he said.
Vick
noted that there is very little difference between an Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and a satellite launch vehicle test "since the
delivery transport system is being commonly demonstrated."
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