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Taepodong-1

 
Wikipedia: Taepodong-1
Taepodong-1

Type IRBM
Service history
In service 25-30 ?
Used by  North Korea
Production history
Manufacturer  North Korea
Specifications
Weight 33,4 tons
Length 25,8 m
Diameter 1,8 m

Warhead One HE / WMD ? / Satellite ?
Blast yield 1,000 kg HE

Engine liquid-fueled
Operational
range
2,500 km
Guidance
system
inertial
Taepodong-1
Chosŏn'gŭl 대포동-1
Hancha 大浦洞-1
McCune-Reischauer Taep'odong-1
Revised Romanization Daepodong-1

Taepodong-1 is a two-stage intermediate-range ballistic missile developed in North Korea and currently in service there. The missile was derived originally from the Scud rocket, and can allegedly serve as both a nuclear delivery system and a space launch vehicle.

Contents

History

On August 31, 1998, it was announced by the North Koreans that they had used this rocket to launch their first satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng from a pad on the Musudan-ri peninsula. However, the satellite failed to achieve orbit; outside observers conjecture that the additional third stage either failed to fire or malfunctioned[1] (see Kwangmyŏngsŏng). This is contrary to official statements of the North Korean state media, which stated that the satellite achieved orbit about 5 minutes after launch. [2] On this single launch, the main two-stage booster flew for 1,646 km without any significant problems.[3] Thus, the Taepodong-1 is North Korea's longest-range operational ballistic missile after the Musudan-1.

In 2003 the US Defense Intelligence Agency reported to the Congress that, "We have no information to suggest Pyongyang intends to deploy the Taepo Dong 1 (TD-1) as a surface-to-surface missile in North Korea. We believe instead that the vehicle was a test bed for multi-stage missile technologies."[4] On the other hand, some Russian sources claim that as of 2009, North Korea has deployed 25-30 Taepodong-1 missiles.[5]

According to post-launch analysis of the launch vehicle, debris from the third stage fell as far as 4,000 kilometers from the launch pad. Some analysts believe that a three-stage space booster variant of the Taepodong-1 could be capable of travelling as far as 5,900 kilometers with a very small payload.[6]

Description

  • Liftoff thrust: 525.25 kN
  • Total mass: 33 406 kg
  • Diameter: 1.80 m
  • Length: 25.80 m
  • Range with 1,500 kg of payload: 2,000 km
  • Range with 1,000 kg of payload: 2,500 km
  • Range with 50 kg of payload and third stage: 6,000 km[7]

The rocket's first stage is a Rodong-1 MRBM, and the second stage is a Hwasong-6 short-range ballistic missile.

Operators

Notes

See also

External links


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