Pong-Dong-Ni Missile and Space Launch Facility
Tongchang-Ni
Imagery 3 June 2009
The Pongdong-Ni/Tongchang-Ni launch facility in the 3 June 2009 image shows that it is very close to being finished with little remaining in the construction materials lay down yard beside the gantry umbilical tower. No gantry crane is visible.
There is a new concrete road to enter the primary MIK horizontal assembly building. No launch control center or VIP viewing areas could be identified. Sites for mobile telemetry and mobile radar tracking equipment were not visible either.
There is a separate much more modern horizontal assembly MIK building. There is also a separate payload and last stage processing center separate from the main MIK horizontal assembly building. The separate MIK building for payload processing was likely for the third stage, as well as the payload, including facilities for test firing RCS systems and explosive processing areas.
There was no evidence of personnel activity during the day indicating the possibility of busing of personnel to and from the site infrastructure personnel housing areas, work inside and/or the potential possibility of night time work not normally observable in available open source imagery.
| Click on the small image to view a larger version | |
The Pongdong-Ni/Tongchang-Ni launch pad as of 3 June 2009. Imagery Source: DigitalGlobe |
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