First North Korea spy satellite is ‘alive’ and being controlled, experts say
Changes in orbit of Malligyong-1 suggest Pyongyang is successfully maneuvering the satellite
Reuters
Thu 29 Feb 2024 02.38 CET
North Korea’s first spy satellite is “alive”, space experts have said, after detecting changes in its orbit that suggested Pyongyang was successfully controlling the spacecraft – although its capabilities remain unknown.
After two fiery failures, North Korea successfully launched the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit in November. Pyongyang’s state media claimed it has photographed sensitive military and political sites in South Korea, the US and elsewhere, but has not released any imagery. Independent radio trackers have not detected signals from the satellite.
“But now we can definitely say the satellite is alive,” Marco Langbroek, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.
From 19-24 February, the satellite conducted manoeuvres to raise its perigee, or the lowest point in its orbit, to 497 km from 488 km (308.8 miles from 303.2 miles), Langbroek said, citing data from the US-led Combined Space Operations Center.
“The manoeuvre proves that Malligyong-1 is not dead, and that North-Korea has control over the satellite – something that was disputed,” he said.
South Korea’s defence ministry said it too had assessed that the satellite was in orbit, but said it would not comment further on individual analyses. On Monday, defence minister Shin Won-sik said the satellite was not showing any signs of performing other tasks or engaging in reconnaissance.
“While we indeed currently cannot be sure whether the satellite does successfully take imagery, it at least performs orbital manoeuvres, so in that sense it is functional,” Langbroek wrote of Shin’s comments.
The orbit-raising manoeuvre was a surprise as the presence of an onboard propulsion system was unexpected and previous North Korean satellites never manoeuvred, he said.
“Having the capacity to raise the satellite’s orbit is a big deal,” Langbroek said.
That meant that as long as there was fuel in the satellite, North Korea could prolong the satellite’s lifetime by raising its altitude when it got too low because of orbital decay, he concluded.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ing-in-use 
N.Korea must be world leader in the production of exoskeletons needed to keep their generals from collapsing under the weight of the jewelry 
They will be leading their tank columns by foot protected with all that metal against enemy attack 
How large is the section in the department of defense that studies the correct application of medals on the uniform 
if true!
x4