U.S. Space Force Adds North Korean ‘Satellite’ to List of Objects Orbiting Earth

By Takayuki Fuchigami / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

14:25 JST, November 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force added an object, which North Korea claims is a military reconnaissance satellite, to its list of satellites and other devices orbiting the Earth, it was learned Thursday.

North Korea launched a rocket carrying the “satellite” Malligyong-1 on Tuesday.

The addition suggests that the United States possibly recognizes that North Korea succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit.

The satellite is orbiting about 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface and takes about 95 minutes to complete one revolution. The satellite’s inclination, which measures the angle of the object’s orbit around the planet, is said to be about 97.5 degrees.

Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary of the U.S. Defense Department, said that the Pentagon was still trying to determine whether the launch was successful at a press conference on Tuesday.