UNITED STATES SPACE COMMAND

News Release

DIRECTORATE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, HEADQUARTERS, U.S. SPACE COMMAND, 250 S. PETERSON BLVD, STE 116,
PETERSON AFB, CO 80914-3190 PHONE: (719) 554-6889 DSN: 692-6889

UNITED STATES SPACE COMMAND WEB SITE ADDRESS: http://www.spacecom.af.mil/usspace

NEWS RELEASE 25-98
September 8, 1998

PETERSON AFB, COLORADO - US Space Command has not been able to confirm North Korean assertions that it launched a small satellite on August 31, 1998.

US Space Command has not observed any object orbiting the Earth that correlates to the orbital data the North Koreans have provided in their public statements. Additionally, we have not observed any new object orbiting the Earth in any orbital path that could correlate to the North Korean claims. Lastly, no US radio receiver has been able to detect radio transmissions at 27 megahertz corresponding to the North Korean claims. Efforts by US Space Command personnel to locate the alleged North Korean satellite are continuing.

The US Space Command has dedicated the resources of its space surveillance network to searching for the satellite the North Koreans claim to have launched. The U.S. Space Surveillance Network consists of ground-based radars and optical sites capable of observing objects orbiting the Earth out to geosynchronous orbit (22,300 miles above the Earth).

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