/ j7 S* X1 ~+ s 3 w# `+ r. D: [/ j7 D The satellite that North Korea claims it launched into orbit yesterday, amid allegations of long-range missile tests, is tumbling out of control, US officials have said. % @- X8 |8 L8 N2 y% { 6 Q# C9 x- x' b% Q Officials told NBC news said that the device is some kind of space vehicle, but that they haven't established what it is supposed to do. ! T) @, ^+ L* T3 ~7 ^& @ 0 I( V* j$ h% j According to officials the object, which was launched at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday, has an unstable trajectory and could crash land back to earth. , G4 r, q/ e+ \: B/ I* K0 C0 ]* O4 m& W' Z6 M, J; o
Whilst seemingly admitting the object is a space vehicle, the US continued to condemn what they called a rocket launch, calling it a 'provocative act.'5 k" I/ J+ \! h( G0 i% Q/ V+ V; q. r
, k' [0 |( c3 p3 Z/ _ The United Nations security council have called it a 'clear violation' of UN resolutions.5 [; U) g5 i/ x( k# F
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A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "deplores" the launch. & j: C0 \2 R$ {1 S( j7 R* _6 D3 _" t8 n# k% c
It is thought that the problems with the unidentified object, which North Korea claims is a weather satellite, could cause it to collide with other orbiting vehicles, or indeed come crashing back to back down earth.- E) F! S0 f( ?" X& h, s
% J' G9 T) y7 \0 h& F9 [9 b Norad, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, detected the launch of the missile at 7.49 p.m. ET on Wednesday. 6 V& L7 I' n$ N0 u ; E ~8 l4 O2 \ Officials have claimed initially the first stage fell into the Yellow Sea and the second stage fell into the Philippine Sea. & k3 n0 @0 N" f; b5 }# n # g h6 m$ E6 C North Korea has claimed that the launch was an attempt to place a satellite into a pole-to-pole orbit.: ^6 i& Y/ Y, `, w
' B4 h' T) c, p6 g( L: Q The official KNCA news agency said the rocket was launched from Sohae Satellite Launch Center and that the Kwangmyongsong weather satellite went into orbit as planned. 7 [" X/ i( u7 r2 V1 R8 T0 h5 Z0 y2 R, Q" o; t
US officials, who have not yet identified what the object actually was, have claimed the launch was a thinly veiled attempt to test a three-stage ballistic missile with the ability to hit the US West Coast. - r, E4 E# R/ W& ]# d- R ]- O 0 B, S3 L! c P7 a* o8 ] William Hague MP, the British Foreign Secretary, was also among the international figures who described the launch – which defied a world ban on ballistic missile tests – as 'provocative'. + W& ]3 M& G8 ?) ^8 G8 t0 p6 v! | y! e7 n& U
China, which is North Korea's only diplomatic ally, had urged the secretive country not to go ahead with the launch.* m: q2 _2 p+ M; h0 K- i
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Today, Russia added to the international condemnation that greeted the launch: "The new rocket launch carried out by North Korea flaunts the opinion of the international community, including calls from the Russian side," it said. # R; O, _; M! p9 x1 J" I' f8 M, o# J9 T1 F
In 2009 a one-ton Russian satellite with a nuclear reactor collided with a 1200-pound American orbiter over Siberia. The resultant debris was as large as a school bus and reentered the atmosphere. It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
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