![UK Space Operations Centre badge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/UK_Space_Operations_Centre_badge.jpg)
United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC) is a
joint
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...
command of the
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...
organised under the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
,
and staffed by personnel from the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
,
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, Royal Air Force and the British Civil Service.
The UKSC has three functions: space operations, space workforce generation, and space capability.
UK Space Command was established 1 April 2021 under the command of Air Vice-Marshal
Paul Godfrey
Paul Victor Godfrey, CM, OOnt (born January 1939) is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the ''Toronto Sun'' and head of the Toronto Blue ...
.
Godfrey is of equal rank to the commanders of the
RAF's Groups. The new command has "responsibility for not just operations, but also generating, training and growing the force, and also owning the money and putting all the programmatic rigour into delivering new ... capabilities."
UKSC headquarters is at
RAF High Wycombe
RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s ...
co-located with Air Command.
When fully operationally capable, UK Space Command will "provide command and control of all of Defence’s space capabilities, including
heUK Space Operations Centre,
Skynet (satellite)
Skynet is a family of military communications satellites, now operated by Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD). They provide strategic and tactical communication services to the branches of the ...
communications,
RAF Fylingdales
Royal Air Force Fylingdales or more simply RAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" (translates to "We are watching"). It is a radar base and is also part of the Ball ...
, and other enabling capabilities."
[
]
Defence Command Paper and Space Strategy
In a March 2021 Defence Command Paper it was announced that part of the additional £1.4 billion allocated to support UK Space Command over the next decade would be used to develop a new Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
(ISR) satellite capability, following on from the Carbonite-2
The Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre (DIFC) is based at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Largely created from the staff of the National Imagery Exploitation Centre (formerly known as the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC)) and th ...
technology demonstrator launched in 2018.
On 22 April 2021 it was announced that Air Commodore Mark Flewin was to become Head Operations, Plans & Training, United Kingdom Space Command, Royal Air Force High Wycombe in May 2021.
As of 2021 Commodore David C. Moody (Engineering Branch, RN) was posted in as Head of Space Capability for UK Space Command.
In February 2022, the first part of the Defence Space Strategy was published, which included the already announced extra investment of £1.4 billion over 10 years mostly for the development of the multi-satellite surveillance and intelligence ISTARI system. The strategy announced that the UK would adopt an "international by design" approach, and is the first state to publicly join the U.S. led Operation Olympic Defender
The Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) is a U.S.-led multinational subordinate command of United States Space Command. It is responsible for tactical control of American and multinational space forces. The CFSCC's mission is to "plan, ...
, enabling international sharing of space resources and the synchronisation of space efforts. The UK will strengthen relations with the Five Eyes
The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sign ...
intelligence partnership.
Operational concept demonstrator satellites for the ISTARI system, with electro-optical sensors and onboard processing, are planned for launch in 2024, under project MINERVA.
See also
*
* British space programme
The British space programme is the British government's work to develop British space capabilities. The objectives of the current civil programme are to "win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to a ...
* Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre
The Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre (DIFC) is based at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. Largely created from the staff of the National Imagery Exploitation Centre (formerly known as the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC)) and th ...
* RAF Oakhanger
RAF Oakhanger is a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire split over three operational sites; with accommodation in nearby Bordon. The main site and operations centre is located near the village of Oakhanger, the two other sites being nearby. Th ...
in Hampshire (1001 Signals Unit RAF), satellite communications site where Skynet was directed from until commercialisation in 2003
* Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Smyth
Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer, who currently serves as the Deputy Commander Operations, Air and Space Commander. From July 2018, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group RAF, No. 1 Group. Bet ...
; Director Space, UK
References
{{Space forces
Joint commands of the United Kingdom
Space units and formations
Military units and formations established in 2021