The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl) new
satellite control ground station will support its first
space mission following the launch of the Faraday-1
satellite. This mission will contribute towards
international research collaborations to facilitate
satellite operations between nations in support of wider
defence science and technology goals in the space domain.
Manufactured by In-Space, Faraday-1 (also known as
Prometheus-1 in the MOD community) will be launched from
the Rocket Lab’s complex in Mahia, New Zealand, on 3 July,
and orbit the Earth for a nominal period of three years to
collect commercial data for industry partners.
Dstl will support operations of Faraday-1 to de-risk
communication systems for future satellites, notably
Prometheus 2, an international science and technology
satellite mission manufactured by In-Space and utilising
the latest Airbus systems for inter-satellite
communications and high-rate data downlink. Lessons learnt
by Dstl from Faraday-1 operations will be shared across the
MOD space community and with international partners, to
both address key technical challenges in preparation for
collaborative operations of Prometheus 2 and build UK space
capability and experience.
Mike O’Callaghan, Space Programme Manager for Dstl, the
science inside UK national security, said: “This is a
significant step for Dstl’s space operations. As well as
investing in UK sovereign capability we will be sharing
knowledge with our international partners to maximise the
safe operation and security of our space assets.”
Tony Holt, In-Space’s CTO, said: “Utilising our Faraday-1
satellite, we’re able to offer a responsive, turnkey
spacecraft service for our customers covering everything
from design support through to operating the payload in
orbit. We are delighted to be working with the
world-leading teams at Dstl and Airbus in delivering the
highly capable mission into orbit.”
Francis Kinsella, Senior Systems Engineer at Airbus said:
“Faraday-1 will give us in-orbit validation of some
innovative Airbus technologies. This reinforces our
partnership approach of working with SMEs and government
agencies to pursue innovative next generation space
capabilities, to support and de-risk our space production
and services businesses.”
