So how close did the long-range rocket launched by North Korea come to Hawai'i on April 5?

Not very close, as it turned out.

But a lot closer than in 2006, when a Taepodong-2 fired by the Hermit Kingdom blew up about 40 seconds after liftoff.

Spaceflight Now reported that the three-stage rocket made it 2,390 miles from the launch site — temporarily flying in space — before dropping back into the atmosphere at a speed that would have allowed debris to make a splash rather than burn up.

Honolulu is about 4,590 miles from Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.

Prior to the launch, there was a lot of reference by Pentagon officials to Hawai'i being in the possible path of the rocket.

Riki Ellison, chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, had said the ideal azimuth for the launch put Hawai'i on the receiving end of a failure to achieve orbit.

North Korea claimed it put a communications satellite in space. U.S. Northern Command said it didn't succeed in doing so.

"This was a ballistic missile test. Not even close to a satellite test," said Ellison, whose organization supports a missile defense shield for the U.S.

Spaceflight Now said a failure occurred when the third stage of the Taepodong-2 failed to separate properly.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at an April 6 press conference that Hawai'i could have defended against a threatening North Korean rocket.

"For the terminal phase we had the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles in Hawai'i, prepared to protect Hawai'i," Gates said.

Those defensive missiles for the terminal phase of flight by a ballistic missile are being tested on Kaua'i, Ellison said.

"I'm sure you'll see another (North Korean) test in another two or three years, going a little bit farther," Ellison said. "They will test this again."

MARINES DECORATED

Three Marines with the 3rd Marine Regiment at Kane'ohe Bay recently received the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for their actions in Afghanistan.

Capt. James Marino, Gunnery Sgt. Alexandro Magdaleno and Staff Sgt. James Schneider were with Embedded Training Team 5-3 and took direct fire while deployed from October 2007 to December 2008, the Corps said.

Schneider was searching for a Taliban leader in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan when a firefight broke out. He maneuvered across 90 feet of open space to provide a resupply of ammo, officials said.

"I wasn't thinking about anything else," he said. "I was thinking about making sure the job was done."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.