
North Korea says its rocket launch failed, 1st spy satellite lost
North Korean state media reported that the launch of the nation's first spy satellite on Wednesday (May 31) was unsuccessful due to a stage-separation issue.
Military forces have a long association with spaceflight, with modern rockets evolving from missiles developed during World War II. Today's armed forces rely on space-based assets for reconnaissance, weather tracking, communication, navigation and more. The U.S. Air Force regularly launches GPS and missile-defense tracking satellites, and operates two classified X-37B robotic space planes. Learn more about military satellites, space weapon, the Space Force and more here.
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