| 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 the weapon is currently in use 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.
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On August 31, 1998, it was announced by the North Koreans that they had used this rocket to launch their first satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 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] 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] More recently, Russian sources have claimed 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]
The rocket's first stage is a Rodong-1 MRBM, and the second stage is a Hwasong-6 short-range ballistic missile.
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