April 2, 2009April 2, 2009 Commercial Satellite Imagery of the Musudan-ri Missile Site in North Korea
ISIS has obtained commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe of the Musudan-ri missile site in North Korea taken on April 2, 2009. The missile on the launch pad is no longer clearly visible in this imagery (see figure 1). In commercial satellite imagery from March 29, 2009, the missile could be clearly seen (see figure 2). In commercial satellite imagery of the launch pad taken on March 23rd, 24th, 26th and 27th, the missile was not distinguishable . It is possible that North Korea had been shrouding the sides of the missile, removed the shroud for the morning of the 29th, and has since resumed the shrouding. It is also possible that the unique angle from which DigitalGlobe's satellite imaged the Musudan-ri launch pad on March 29th allowed for a clear view of the missile on the pad, while all other recent imagery of the launch pad from a different angle did not allow for such a clear view.
View the new imagery at: http://www.isis-online.org/publications/dprk/MusudanRi_2April2009.pdf
New Satellite Image of Musudan-ri Missile Site in North Korea
April 2, 2009
ISIS has obtained commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe of the Musudan-ri missile site in North Korea taken on April 2, 2009. The missile on the launch pad is no longer clearly visible in this imagery (see figure 1). In commercial satellite imagery from March 29, 2009, the missile could be clearly seen (see figure 2). In commercial satellite imagery of the launch pad taken on March 23rd, 24th, 26th and 27th, the missile was not distinguishable1. It is possible that North Korea had been shrouding the sides of the missile, removed the shroud for the morning of the 29th, and has since resumed the shrouding. It is also possible that the unique angle from which DigitalGlobe’s satellite imaged the Musudan-ri launch pad on March 29th allowed for a clear view of the missile on the pad, while all other recent imagery of the launch pad from a different angle did not allow for such a clear view.
[Banner image credit: DigitalGlobe-ISIS]
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Figure 1. DigitalGlobe satellite image from April 2, 2009 of the launch pad at Musudan-ri in North Korea. The missile and the shadow it casts are not visible in this image.
Figure 2. DigitalGlobe satellite image from March 29, 2009 of the launch pad at Musudan-ri missile site in North Korea. The missile and its shadow can be seen.
1 http://www.isis-online.org/publications/dprk/Musudan_Ri_27March2009.pdf
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