Rocket launching site in North Korea
The
Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground
(東海衛星發射場), also known as
Musudan-ri
(
Korean
:
무수단里
),
[1]
is a
rocket
launching site
in
North Korea
.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Location
[
edit
]
It lies in southern
Hwadae
County,
North Hamgyong Province
, near
Musu Dan
, the cape marking the northern end of the
East Korea Bay
. The area was formerly known as Taep'o-dong (대포동) during the period when
Korea was occupied by Japan
, and the Taepodong rockets take their name from this. This single loose-surface road is susceptible to seasonal flooding. The site is 45 km northeast of port city of
Kimchaek
and 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the town of Kilju (길주읍). There is a small wharf located at the
fishing village
of Tongha-dong but can only accommodate
vessels
smaller than 40 meters in length.
History
[
edit
]
By the early 1980s, North Korea needed a flight-test facility for its program to reverse-engineer and produce copies of the
Scud-B
which it acquired from the
Soviet Union
in the late 60s. Previously, North Korea used a facility at Hwajin-ri (華進里), Pyongwon-kun, South Pyongan Province to test for
anti-ship missiles
and probably
FROGs
,
surface-to-air missiles
(SAMs) and other rockets. However, Hawjin-ri had insufficient range for the
Hwasong-5
, which would enter Chinese
territorial waters
during a test. The construction of the facility continued off and on throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Construction was made by the 117th Regiment under the Air Force Construction Bureau (空軍建設部) of the
Ministry of People's Armed Forces
.
[5]
Construction of the launch pad was completed in 1985. During the early stage of construction, the site had an extremely rudimentary infrastructure, such as a few roads, a command bunker, a
radar
facility, and modest storage and support facilities.
However, by the early 1990s, the Tonghae site was reportedly expanded from 2 km to 9 km and the following infrastructure was added: a missile assembly facility, a fuel storage facility, a guidance and range control center, and tracking facilities.
The first launch from the site is reported to have occurred on 1 April 1984.
[2]
Since that year, military rockets of the types
Hwasong
,
Rodong
and
Taepodong-1
were launched from Musudan-ri. In 1998, North Korean media reported the successful launch of the
Kwangmy?ngs?ng-1
satellite by a
Baekdusan-1
SLV from Musudan-ri. North Korea claimed their first satellite was successfully placed into orbit, but no independent sources have confirmed this. A review of the rocket engine test stand on DigitalGlobe imagery coverage from 15 February 2002 to 26 February 2009 revealed a variety of activity, including drying grain on the concrete, the presence of cylindrical storage tanks and the arrival/departure of multiple support vehicles and personnel. A second failed satellite launch attempt
apparently occurred in 2006
.
A total of 13 launches are reported from the site, with the last happening on 5 April 2009.
[2]
The facility is in caretaker status as of 2020
[6]
and has been since 2014.
[7]
Facilities
[
edit
]
The facilities at Musudan-ri are modest, consisting of a disused
launch pad
at
40°51′21″N
129°39′58″E
/
40.8557°N 129.6660°E
/
40.8557; 129.6660
(
Launch pad
)
and a new launch pad at
40°51′30″N
129°41′12″E
/
40.8582°N 129.6866°E
/
40.8582; 129.6866
. The disused launch pad consists of a 30-meter umbilical tower with a top-mounted gantry crane, a flame blast bucket, a launch blockhouse with a connecting access tunnel, two semi-buried
liquid fuel
storage buildings, a concrete apron/pad and multiple small support buildings.
[8]
An engine test stand at
40°51′08″N
129°40′48″E
/
40.8523°N 129.6799°E
/
40.8523; 129.6799
(
Engine test stand
)
, a missile assembly/checkout building at
40°51′21″N
129°39′33″E
/
40.8558°N 129.6592°E
/
40.8558; 129.6592
(
Missile assembly/checkout building
)
, a missile control building at
40°51′47″N
129°39′37″E
/
40.8630°N 129.6604°E
/
40.8630; 129.6604
(
Missile control building
)
and a Ground Tracking Facility (coordinates obtained from
Wikimapia
in April 2024).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Active
| Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
North America
|
- United States government:
USSF
- NASA
- United
States
academic launches
- United States private launches
|
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
South America
| |
---|
International waters
| |
---|
|
---|
Proposed
| |
---|
Historical
| |
---|