NYT: Trackers Deem North Korea's Missile Flight a Failure

"It's got to be embarrassing," said Geoffrey E. Forden, a missile expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I can imagine heads flying if the 'Dear Leader' finds out the satellite didn't fly into orbit," he said, referring to the name North Koreans are obliged to use when speaking of Kim Jong-il, North Korea's reclusive leader.

"It's a setback," Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks satellites and rocket launchings, said of the North Korean launching. He added that the North Koreans must now find and fix the problem. "The missile doesn't represent any kind of near-term threat."

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=352642&f=20

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