Tongch'ang-dong Missile and Space Launch Facility
Pongdong-Ni / Tongchang-Ni
The launch facility at Pong-Dong-Ni is located on North Korea's west coast. The name Pongdong-ni comes from the practice of applying names to facilities based on the nearest named population center. Both Pongdong-ni and Kwi-Gol were reportedly partially demolished during the construction of the facility. An alternative spelling, Pongdong-ri has also been used to describe the facility, as have the names Tongchang-ni, Tongchang-dong, and Dongchong-ni. As of June 2009 the actual name of the facility was unclear.
Signs of construction were visible during the early 1990s and became more pronounced by the early 2000s. The west coast facility as of 17 February 17, 2009 did not have all its service levels and no gantry crane. Much of the hardware was observed lying on the ground meaning it was not ready for use. A considerable push was seen between then and June 2009 to ready the facility for operational use.
The launch facility seen in 3 June 2009 satellite imagery was very close to being finished with little to no evidence of construction materials indicating continued work. Of importance was the gantry umbilical tower with no gantry crane implying that the booster would be brought to the pad fully assembled with the payload. A booster fully assembled would obviate the need for such equipment to assist in on site assembly. An approximately 40 meter long erector transporter, as seen in 26 March 2009 imagery of the launch site at Musudan-ri would likely have been used to erect the assembly.
In the image no personnel or vehicular traffic was present. The a new concrete road to enter the MIK building appeared to have been recently used, suggesting the arrival of the booster payload third stage during the weekend of 30 May 2009.
There was also separate horizontal assembly MIK building and a separate payload and last stage processing center. The separate MIK building for payload processing was likely for the third stage, as well as the payload. The separate MIK building for payload processing would likely be for the third stage, as well as the payload including test firing RCS systems building and explosive processing area buildings. There was also no evidence of personnel activity at these portions of the facility in the 3 June 2009 imagery.
As of 3 June 2009 it was not possible to identify a launch control center or VIP viewing areas. Nor was it possible to identify other sites for mobile telemetry and mobile radar tracking equipment. Launch control facitlity could have been underground.
