The year ahead: What do the next 12 months hold in store for UK Space Command?

UK Space Command, which was launched in April 2022, is set to see some major milestones over the next 12 months. 

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Cheesman, the capability development lead at UK Space Command, told Forces News: "2024 should see the launch of our first operational capability demonstrators, an electro-optical satellite up in low earth orbit.

"The idea is that we can start bringing data down, and for us it's less about what we're flying, it's the architecture and the system behind it that will allow us to essentially push data down from space right down to the mud for the soldier."

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UK Space Command forms part of the Government's plan to increase Britain's ambitions in the domain of space.

When fully operational, it will take control of RAF Fylingdales, strategic military satellites known as Skynet and the UK Space Operations Centre (UK SpOC).

RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire offers early-warning capability to the US and UK against surprise missile attacks, while UK SpOC protects British assets in orbit.

Lt Col Cheesman said UK Space Command enables multidimensional and multidomain operations.

"It allows the rest of the traditional defence domains to operate together seamlessly," he added.