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The satellite that North Korea claims it launched into orbit yesterday, amid allegations of long-range missile tests, is tumbling out of control, US officials have said. + y. j# V$ W) {9 f* S7 V& d+ q& t; M; {) ~3 Z$ J
Officials told NBC news said that the device is some kind of space vehicle, but that they haven't established what it is supposed to do.6 H9 w9 d; O0 g/ e$ h( `9 i- n7 E, S
( ? @9 Y7 {( k. P; @7 j5 z According to officials the object, which was launched at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday, has an unstable trajectory and could crash land back to earth.( m7 Q# L% m. q+ K; f
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Whilst seemingly admitting the object is a space vehicle, the US continued to condemn what they called a rocket launch, calling it a 'provocative act.'- N. i7 }& H9 x4 V7 X
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The United Nations security council have called it a 'clear violation' of UN resolutions. 8 |! |8 K$ I; c( ^0 k5 |' y+ e! | N
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "deplores" the launch. 8 I; S" S \# f- W* F: y% ?# x# I, Z- a# ?
It is thought that the problems with the unidentified object, which North Korea claims is a weather satellite, could cause it to collide with other orbiting vehicles, or indeed come crashing back to back down earth.* }( o; m- ?0 J7 @+ u' T
# D* F* z6 |! x% {/ l' [4 _* U Norad, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, detected the launch of the missile at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday. & }4 T, v1 }' P# y; K- Z) W+ `. q( g8 s4 ^6 Y% a. a: s+ m2 z
Officials have claimed initially the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea and the second stage fell into the Philippine Sea.8 n4 d1 g( z3 L2 O1 l
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North Korea has claimed that the launch was an attempt to place a satellite into a pole-to-pole orbit. , p# B; D9 X2 z! _# Z9 r: p; s: ] 8 B; O( {5 B; Q" W7 x The official KNCA news agency said the rocket was launched from Sohae Satellite Launch Center and that the Kwangmyongsong weather satellite went into orbit as planned.) v" q: X, G/ B
2 U! S2 i% Y4 n6 w US officials, who have not yet identified what the object actually was, have claimed the launch was a thinly veiled attempt to test a three-stage ballistic missile with the ability to hit the US West Coast. ' i' E# @8 w% E/ Z B& j0 }! N% f$ D7 y; y- K
William Hague MP, the British Foreign Secretary, was also among the international figures who described the launch – which defied a world ban on ballistic missile tests – as 'provocative'. 4 }3 a/ |2 r+ E4 s' c + H9 c0 L ]7 I. Y China, which is North Korea's only diplomatic ally, had urged the secretive country not to go ahead with the launch.8 B8 c; e. R F8 v k* k; U
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Today, Russia added to the international condemnation that greeted the launch: "The new rocket launch carried out by North Korea flaunts the opinion of the international community, including calls from the Russian side," it said./ t: l, s) U( W" ]9 n5 [/ x9 Q
8 H( @- P8 \" y7 @! M In 2009 a one-ton Russian satellite with a nuclear reactor collided with a 1200-pound American orbiter over Siberia. The resultant debris was as large as a school bus and reentered the atmosphere. It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
