The UK Space Command’s first owned earth observation microsatellite has been launched, providing the inaugural element of a planned space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) constellation.
Named Tyche, the spacecraft was deployed on 16 August, as one of 116 satellites placed into low-Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket during SpaceX’s Transporter-11 Rideshare mission, launched from Vandenberg Space Base in California.
Tyche carries a “high-resolution optical payload delivering sub-1m GSD [ground sampling distance] imagery with an inter-satellite link and onboard processing capability”, says Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), its producer.
“Tyche represents the first of an entire constellation of ISR satellites that we will launch over the coming years to rapidly increase support to the nation,” says Major General Paul Tedman, commander of the UK Space Command.
So far, £127 million ($165 million) has been allocated for the command’s Minerva initiative, which will serve as “the precursor to an operational constellation under Programme ISTARI”, SSTL notes.
The UK Ministry of Defence awarded the company a £22 million contract in 2022 to produce and launch the Tyche operational concept demonstrator, which is based on the company’s roughly 160kg (352lb) Carbonite+ satellite.
SSTL had in late May shipped the Tyche payload to the USA from its Guildford site in the UK.
