Why North and South Korea Have Big Ambitions in Space: An 'Unblinking Eye' (wsj.com) 13
The two Koreas are elevating a space race aimed at modernizing how each country monitors the other's improving military firepower. From a report: As hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough have dimmed in recent years, North and South Korea have grown more antagonistic toward one another and upped their displays of military might. They have traded missile tests. Pyongyang has sent drones that flew over downtown Seoul. South Korea has sharpened security and defense ties with the U.S. and Japan. The rise in tensions has elevated the importance -- and need -- for spy-satellite technology that neither country now has. South Korea cleared a significant technological marker on Thursday, launching multiple commercial satellites aboard a homegrown rocket for the first time. North Korea's Kim Jong Un regime stands poised to soon fly its first military reconnaissance satellite.
Nuri, South Korea's three-stage liquid-fuel rocket, blasted off at 6:24 p.m. local time Thursday from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, a city on the country's southern coast. The 200-ton rocket launched into space and deployed eight satellites into orbit about 342 miles above Earth, about 13 minutes after liftoff. Seoul has the clear technological advantage, weapons analysts say, though Pyongyang has been quick to advance its sanctioned missile program to develop long-range rockets that can carry satellites. Both nations remain years away from having a full-fledged network of spy satellites. But attaining the technology would allow the countries to identify military targets to precisely launch strikes during potential conflict without relying on their allies' satellite technology for information. In North Korea's case, space-based satellite technology is essential for its nuclear strategy. Having eyes in the sky would serve as an additional asset to launching nuclear strikes with better accuracy, said Yang Uk, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank in Seoul. Should the technology progress enough, North Korea could potentially identify nuclear strike targets in the U.S., he added.
Nuri, South Korea's three-stage liquid-fuel rocket, blasted off at 6:24 p.m. local time Thursday from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, a city on the country's southern coast. The 200-ton rocket launched into space and deployed eight satellites into orbit about 342 miles above Earth, about 13 minutes after liftoff. Seoul has the clear technological advantage, weapons analysts say, though Pyongyang has been quick to advance its sanctioned missile program to develop long-range rockets that can carry satellites. Both nations remain years away from having a full-fledged network of spy satellites. But attaining the technology would allow the countries to identify military targets to precisely launch strikes during potential conflict without relying on their allies' satellite technology for information. In North Korea's case, space-based satellite technology is essential for its nuclear strategy. Having eyes in the sky would serve as an additional asset to launching nuclear strikes with better accuracy, said Yang Uk, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank in Seoul. Should the technology progress enough, North Korea could potentially identify nuclear strike targets in the U.S., he added.
Spend Your Riches On Fear. (Score:2)
Where have I seen this before?
North Korea strikes 1st = winner (not North Korea (Score:2)
North Korea strikes 1st = winner (not North Korea)
Misread (Score:2)
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I doubt they're going to be using an Orion to launch satellites.
yay rockets! (Score:2)
I know both countries are concentrating on shooting each other, but, look, more rockets! Maybe once they can launch things into space reliably they'll switch to using the rockets for something more productive. And they're competing against each other, which is a standard formula for rapid improvement.
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North Korea's goal was always an essentially orbital rocket. Threatening a US carrier group or Tokyo with a nuke is okay for security, but threatening Los Angeles, New York or Washington is much better. Being able to put some spy satellites in orbit is just a handy fringe benefit, as it was for the US, Russia and China.
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threatening Los Angeles, New York or Washington is much better
If they were to even try it, the entirety of North Korea would be a giant glowing green crater by the time it was all said and done. Not even China would back them over that BS. Sure, China might like the taunting and the wasting of resources the US has to undergo to deal with it, but if push comes to shove, China isn't stupid enough to back a nuclear first strike.
Hell, it wouldn't even get that far. The second NK gets a orbital nuke platform the other countries of the world will be crying fowl and rejoi
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The point is not to nuke the US, it's to have the capability to do so. That makes a US invasion very unlikely. Before you go beating your nationalistic chest some more, it's exactly the same strategy every nuclear power, including the US, uses.
I guess you're living in the 1950s when everyone figured battleships in orbit were the way to go? We're talking about ballistic missiles. You know, like the US has.
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Before you go beating your nationalistic chest some more
Nationalistic? Have you read my posts???? The point was that most countries wouldn't allow NK to have such an advantage. And no, most countries (the US included) don't have an orbital nuclear weapons platform.
I guess you're living in the 1950s when everyone figured battleships in orbit were the way to go?
1) I'm not even old enough to have lived through the 1950s.
2) You're the one that brought up orbital battleships.
We're talking about ballistic missiles. You know, like the US has.
Yes, that is what we're talking about. Glad we're on the same page there.
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