Lode Star-3

Lode Star-3 is the name of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 , which was a North Korean Earth observation satellite, which according to the DPRK was for weather forecast purposes, and whose launch was widely portrayed in the West to be a veiled ballistic missile test.

The satellite was launched on 13 April 2012 aboard the Unha-3 carrier rocket from Sohae Satellite Launching Station. The rocket exploded 90 seconds after launch near the end of the firing of the first stage of the rocket. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic.