Musudan-ri/Musudan-ni Missile Test Facility

GeoEye Imagery 29 March 2009

New imagery taken on 29 March 2009 of the Musudan-ri launch facility in North Korea showed continued activity at the launch pad, the launch control facility and the vehicle checkout building. The imagery released by the satellite company GeoEye, showed activity that was consistent with reports from the US DoD that North Korea was continuing preparations for a missile launch as early as the 4 or 5 April 2009.

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New satellite imagery at the Musudan-ri launch facility showed continuing activity at the launch pad. The launch vehicle was on the pad, but was partially obscured due to the angle of obliquity of the image. There appeared to be increased activity at the launch control building, as several vehicles including a minibus were present. A building with test support radar was located almost 900 meters to the west of the launch pad. Imagery Source: GeoEye
Launch pad as of 29 March 2009 Imagery Source: GeoEye	The missile/satellite launch vehicle was partially visible on the launch pad, but was obscured by the launch tower. A small vehicle was present near one of the liquid fuel storage buildings. Imagery Source: GeoEye
An increase in vehicular activity near the launch control building was apparent in the new imagery. Imagery Source: GeoEye	Several vehicles were parked near the launch control building, including a minivan. This was the most vehicles that have been observed at the launch control building to date. Imagery Source: GeoEye
Vehicle checkout building as of 29 March 2009. Imagery Source: GeoEye	Although the missile/space launch vehicle had been erected on the launch pad, there were still vehicles parked near the vehicle checkout building. Imagery Source: GeoEye
A small building probably supporting missile tracking, measures approximately 10 by 15 meters and was located almost 900 meters to the west of the launch pad. Imagery Source: GeoEye	The function of the parabolic dish could not be determined with certainty, but it probably supported missile tracking or the reception of missile telemetry. The dish measured approximately 4.5 meters in diameter. Imagery Source: GeoEye