North Korea Reaches Orbit
After three known failed attempts spanning 14 years, North Korea joined the world's "space club" with a successful orbital launch from its Sohae launch site on December 12, 2012. A three-stage Unha 3 rocket carried the second Kwangmyongsong 3 ("Star of Hope") satellite into a 494 x 588 km x 97.4 deg sun synchronous orbit after a 00:51 UTC liftoff.
It was the second Unha 3 launch of the year. The first attempt failed shortly after liftoff from the same site on April 12.