North Korea Steals NASA Logo.
But names Space Agency NADA (which means 'nothing' in Spanish)
By Daily Mail UK, 2 April 2014
With its blue globe, swooshed rings and a constellation of stars remarkably like NASA's, North Korea has proudly unveiled a new logo for its space agency to 'glorify' its stature as a global power.
But almost as soon as it was unveiled, the emblem was already threatening to bring dictator Kim Jong Un crashing back down to Earth.
Amid the fanfare, it has been quick to attract mocking criticism because its acronym NADA unfortunately translates as 'nothing' in Spanish.
That, cynics have pointed out, pretty much sums up the hermit nation's achievements in the space race to date.
North Korea has unveiled a new logo for its space agency that looks remarkably like
NASA's except for the unfortunate acronym NADA which means 'nothing' in Spanish
Back down to Earth: The emblem was designed to 'glorify' North Korea's stature as a
global power, but has left dictator Kim Jong Un open to humiliating criticism
North Korea has managed to launch just one satellite into space after several botched attempts and even that is thought to have malfunctioned while in orbit.
And while the logo has also been likened to NASA's iconic symbol - albeit a cartoon version - North Korea made no reference to its arch rivals when announcing the design.
Critics soon took to Twitter to mock the logo:
Quote:
Felicity Morse said: 'Love that North Korea has not only ripped off Nasa's logo, but also called it Nada'.
Michael Gaffney tweeted: 'The irony that they've called it 'NADA'. Because that's exactly what the result will be.'
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Jonathan Cheng added: 'N. Korea's rebranded space agency has big ambitions, peaceful intentions and one really awful acronym: NADA'
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North Korea launched a satellite into on the Unha-3 rocket (above) from Cholsan county,
North Pyongan province, in December 2012 after several failed attempts, but it thought the satellite has malfunctioned
Above image shows the Unha-3 rocket launch at North Korea's space agency's General Launch
Command Center on the outskirts of Pyongyang, Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The logo was released to mark the first anniversary of North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration
It said the stars, which form the Great Bear constellation, were designed to 'glorify Kim Il Sung's and Kim Jong Il's (former rulers) Korea as a space power'.
It added: 'The DPRK has pushed ahead with space development projects to turn the country into a space power, fully exercising its right to peaceful development of the space on a legal basis'
It denied it was pursuing the 'weaponisation of outer space'.
In December 2012, Pyongyang finally launched a satellite - described as a 'dishwasher wrapped in tinfoil - after several botched attempts.
After 14 years of trying, hundreds of millions of pounds and repeated failures, the government claimed the mission was a huge success, but many believe it ended up simply tumbling out of control.
North Korea insists its space program is peaceful, but its long-range rocket program has generated international fears that it is getting closer to developing nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S.