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North Korea's satellite is still active and continues to maneuver. Photo/Reuters
PYONGYANG – North Korea's first spy satellite is “alive” and continues to maneuver. This was stated by Marco Langbroek, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Langbroek has detected changes in its orbit that suggest Pyongyang is successfully controlling the spacecraft – although its capabilities remain unknown.
After two major failures, North Korea succeeded in placing the Malligyong-1 satellite in orbit in November. Pyongyang's state media claims it has photographed sensitive military and political sites in South Korea, the United States and other countries, but has not released any images. Independent radio trackers have not detected a signal from the satellite.
“But now we can definitely say that the satellite is alive,” wrote Marco Langbroek, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, in a blog post.
From February 19-24, the satellite performed maneuvers to raise its perigee, or lowest point in its orbit, from 488 km to 497 km, Langbroek said, citing data from the US-led Joint Space Operations Center.
“The maneuvers prove that Malligyong-1 is not dead, and that North Korea has control over the satellite – something that is still disputed,” he said.
South Korea's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the satellite showed no signs of performing other tasks or carrying out reconnaissance.
“While we cannot currently confirm whether the satellite was successful in capturing imagery, it at least performed an orbital maneuver, so in this case it worked,” Langbroek wrote of Shin's comments.
The orbital raising maneuver was a surprise because the presence of the propulsion system on board was unexpected, and North Korean satellites had never previously been maneuvered, he said.