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according to british media reports, on august 16, the first military reconnaissance satellite of the british space command was successfully launched at the vandenberg space force base in california, usa. it is reported that the satellite is the first satellite in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite group that the british space command plans to launch in a few years.

the black arrow rocket is the only launch vehicle that has been successfully launched in the uk. the rocket project was terminated in 1971 and is now on display at the science museum in london, uk.

it is reported that since its establishment on april 1, 2021, the british space command has successively issued documents such as the national space strategy, the national defense space strategy, and the space defense strategy: space domain operations to promote the development of the space industry, focusing on investing in satellite communications, space situational awareness, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space command and control, space-based positioning and navigation, and space launch. among them, in terms of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the british space command plans to invest 970 million pounds (about 1.2 billion us dollars) in the next 10 years to build an istari satellite system consisting of large, medium and small satellites. the system will carry a variety of sensors such as optics and radars, which can collect earth observation data and electronic intelligence from all over the world and enhance the monitoring capabilities of global military operations. at the same time, the british space command is also promoting a satellite project called minerva, which plans to invest 127 million pounds to launch four concept demonstration satellites to develop a satellite network that can solve information processing, radio frequency management, imaging capabilities and data flows, and realize intelligence data exchange with allies, while providing preliminary information support for the construction of the istari satellite system. jeremy quinn, former uk ministry of defense procurement minister, said that the istari satellite system and the minerva satellite project formed the foundation of the uk's space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

according to reports, the satellite launched this time is named tyche and is the first satellite launched in the minerva project. the satellite was manufactured by surrey satellite technology ltd. in the uk with an investment of 22 million pounds by the uk ministry of defense in 2022. it is equipped with high-resolution optical, medium-wave infrared and synthetic aperture radar payloads, which can provide high-resolution daytime images and videos below 1 meter. in the future, it will perform intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, disaster monitoring, climate warning and other tasks. paul tydeman, commander of the uk space command, said: "the successful launch of this satellite shows that the uk space command and its military-industrial partners have the ability to quickly promote concepts into concrete operations."

in addition, officials from the uk space command said that the uk will start the launch of the istari satellite system in 2026, and it is expected to build comprehensive combat capabilities by 2031 to provide "generative space data."

the analysis said that although the british space command has released a series of satellite system construction plans, related issues still need to be resolved in order to implement them smoothly.

first of all, the uk's aerospace technology needs to be improved. although the uk is an old industrial country, its aerospace industry has not developed smoothly. satellites manufactured in the uk have always had to be sent to foreign launch bases for launch. in january 2023, the uk launched a satellite for the first time at its native cornwall spaceport, but the rocket did not enter the planned orbit and the launch was declared a failure. on august 19 this year, a rocket engine exploded during a rocket launch test at a newly built spaceport in the shetland islands, uk. foreign media said that although the uk is eager to join the ranks of space powers, the successive failures of rocket launches have dealt a blow to the uk's "ambitions."

secondly, the funding is still unclear. the public accounts committee of the house of commons of the british parliament said earlier this year that there was a gap of 16.9 billion pounds between the ministry of defense budget and the actual military expenditure required by the british army, which is the largest military expenditure gap in the history of the united kingdom. in july this year, after the new labour government came to power, it immediately conducted a thorough review of the uk's defense needs and expenditures. this process may take a year, increasing the uncertainty of related projects. the special committee on defense of the house of commons of the british parliament stated that given the precedent of the british ministry of defense failing to complete major projects on time, the committee expressed concerns about the future prospects of the istari satellite system project.

editor-in-charge/ fang ruizi