North Korea confirms completion of surveillance satellite.
This should, according to Pyongyang, be completed in a few months. Even if some doubts persist as to its effectiveness.
See you in April 2023
It is the state media of North Korea KCNA who just passed on the news. The country would have conducted a test this Sunday “ important, final stage from his spy satellite. The announcement came a day after South Korea and Japan spotted the launch of two mid-size ballistic missiles. Still according to the same source, the satellite should be finalized in April 2023.
Launched by the National Aerospace Development Agency from the Sohae launch base in the northwest of the country, the test satellite incorporated a color camera with a resolution of 20 meters. It was accompanied by two multispectral cameras, image transmitters and receivers, a control device and a storage battery.
” We have confirmed important technical indicators such as the technology of operation of cameras in the space environment, the data processing and transmission capacity of communication devices, the accuracy of tracking and mastery of the ground control system “, explained a spokesperson for the agency.
A satellite with limited capabilities
However, even if this satellite ends up in orbit, its efficiency should not be optimal. North Korea was only able to provide after this test two black and white, low resolution photos showing Seoul and its Incheon port.
According to the member of the Stimon Center interviewed by the Reuters agency Martyn Williams, cameras with a resolution of 50 or even 30 centimeters should be used for this kind of spy satellite. ” At a resolution of 20 meters, the satellite will be able to distinguish buildings, ships and planes, but not vehicles, people or other machinery “, he said.
But even if the technology is still crude, for the specialist, North Korea has shown over the years that it is capable of technological advances within the fields in which it is invested. This spy satellite might be no exception.
Source : Reuters
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