On Tuesday, space experts stated that North Korea’s first spy satellite is “alive” following changes in the orbit, suggesting that North Korea gained successful control of the spacecraft after two previous failures.
In November, North Korea was able to launch the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit. Between the week of February 19-24, the satellite conducted maneuvers to “raise its perigee”. This enabled the spacecraft to raise the lowest point in its orbit from 488km to 497km (303.2 mi to 308.8 mi). This proves that Pyongyang does, in fact, have control over the satellite and the spacecraft is functional. North Korea’s state media announced the satellite had photographed military and political locations in South Korea and the U.S. However, no imagery has been released. There also have not been any signal detections emanating from the spacecraft by independent radio trackers. South Korea’s defense ministry announced the satellite did not display signs of other functions besides reconnaissance. North Korea has pledged to launch three more spy satellites in 2023.
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