Tracking North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong-4 Satellite Using OSINT

I assume the answer is &#x27;no&#x27;, but did NK liaise in anyway with the international body that governs orbital slots for satellites, or is it irrelevant for this orbit (or likely to deorbit in a few months anyway).<p>I&#x27;m not sure what is more likely; an NK that goes all first strike, or gets a bit too ambitious in launching satellites without participating in the appropriate international processes and triggers a Kessler Syndrome event in Earth orbit.

Since neither the article nor the comments here mention this: it is not <i>at all</i> clear that the launched object was a satellite. In fact, the available evidence -- including the fact that no transmissions have ever been detected from this or its three predecessors -- points towards it being an intercontinental ballistic missile test, and the &quot;satellite&quot; is just a cover story.<p>And there&#x27;s precedent too: the Kwangmyongsong-1 deorbited almost immediately, but the launch was still hailed in the NK press as a total success, up to and including broadcasting songs extolling the virtues of Kims.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-1" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-1</a>

Why is it widely condemned when North Korea launches a satellite?<p>Why does the article quote North Korea&#x27;s &quot;right&quot; to explore space in a peaceful manner?<p>Just wondering.<p>It&#x27;s not like plenty of other states are putting military satellites in orbit without asking anyone for permission.

I realize N Korea is pretty isolated, but China shares technology with the country right? Do engineers in N Korea go to school in China?

So how long is it before western countries intervene? NK has demonstrated that they can build nuclear bombs, they have demonstrated that they can put objects into orbit. Its only a matter of time before they can do both at the same time.

Interesting...the article posits, if frequencies can be discovered, it might be possible to intercept&#x2F;capture transmissions from the satellite, when in range, using something as simple as a ham radio or SDR dongle (police scanner)...<p>My understanding of satellite coms is that many satellites are of the &quot;relay&quot; class, and use TDRS--Tracking and Data Relay Satellite--to bounce signals from satellite to satellite when a ground station is not in line of sight...NASA, for instance...<p>I wonder what the N. Korean coms protocol is...?

Can frequency hopping or something similar be used to make transmissions from satellites hard or impossible to detect?