Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia **Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1** (Korean: 광명성 1호, Hanja: 光明星 1號, meaning **Bright Star 1**) was a satellite allegedly launched by **North Korea** on **31 August 1998**. While the North Korean government claimed that the launch was successful, no objects were ever tracked in orbit from the launch, and outside North Korea it is considered to have been a **failure**. It was the first satellite to be launched as part of the Kwangmyŏngsŏng program, and the **first** satellite that North Korea attempted to launch. It was launched from **Musudan-ri** using a **Paektusan** rocket, at 03:07 GMT on 31 August 1998, a few days before the **50th anniversary of North Korea's independence from Japan**. On 4 September, the Korean Central News Agency announced that the satellite had successfully been placed into low Earth orbit.