UK Space Command's first satellite Tyche was launched on 16 August onboard the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission. Pictured are the various satellites launched on the mission, including the box-shaped Tyche seen on the far left near the bottom. (SpaceX)
UK Space Command's first satellite – Tyche – was launched on the evening of 16 August onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as part of the ‘Transporter-11' Rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in the US.
Tyche is a 150 kg research and development (R&D) concept demonstrator spacecraft, based on manufacturer Surrey Satellites Technology Limited (SSTL) Carbonite family of electro-optical (EO) satellites, which was initially scheduled to launch in 2023. It was designed and built in the UK through a GBP22 million (USD28.5 million) contract awarded to the company by the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) procurement arm, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
Commodore Dave Moody, head of Space Capability at UK Space Command, told Janes in 2023 that Tyche's primary purpose was delivering representative data to UK Space Command so that it can learn how best to use the information for defence and security, dual-use, or other purposes that may evolve. The satellite will also have an in-orbit processing capability, he added.
The MoD said in a statement on 17 August that Tyche is the UK's first fully MoD-owned satellite, and UK Space Command's first satellite, which can capture daytime images and videos of the Earth's surface, providing timely space-based imagery in support of the British Armed Forces.
The satellite will maintain a 500 km low Earth orbit (LEO) using water-based propulsion to manoeuvre in space.
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