UK military satellite Titania launches into orbit following £3bn space investment into defence of space – GOV.UK

UK military satellite Titania launches into orbit following £3bn space investment into defence of space  GOV.UK

British-built satellite Titania has successfully launched and is in orbit, giving the Armed Forces a new pair of eyes in space. Titania launch comes as new advanced ground sensor trials to track movements and detect threats in space take place. Part of more than £3 billion of defence investment over next four years to strengthen UK’s presence in space and protect satellites critical to daily life. Britain has a new pair of eyes in space, with the successful launch of British-built military satellite Titania. The launch – completed last month – will further help the Armed Forces coordinate their efforts on and above Earth, by improving their ability to observe military activity on Earth from space.

Titania is the second satellite in the UK’s growing constellation of military satellites in orbit, following the successful launch of Tyche in October and will be operated by UK Space Command as part of the ISTARI programme. Like Tyche, Titania weighs around 100kg – about the size of a washing machine – and orbits the Earth every ninety minutes, travelling at twenty-seven thousand kilometres per hour. The successful launch comes as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) also stands up Project Inaros, a new trial of an advanced network of sensors designed to monitor space from three sites around the world. Secretary of State for