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BELFAST — The United Kingdom has asked industry suppliers to propose ground-based Electro-Optical (EO) sensor solutions capable of providing Space Domain Awareness (SDA) for UK space assets on Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO).
Once operational, the new sensor will be hosted on a UK military base in Cyprus, capable of resident space object (RSO) tracking and “potentially characterisation or neighbourhood watch functions for the GEO orbital regime,” according to a Request for Information (RFI) solicitation.
More specifically, the UK wants to “re-establish” a ground-based EO sensor capability in Cyprus as the location was previously used by UK-based space situational awareness firm Space Insight Inc. as part of the company’s Starbrook facility, a UK MoD spokesperson told Breaking Defense in a statement.
“The Starbrook electro-optical sensor was a ground-based wide field of view surveying sensor, designed to observe objects in higher Earth orbits,” added the spokesperson. The Starbrook sensor was first installed in Cyprus in 2006.
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A passive EO sensor with a mount is being sought so the system can be remotely operated. It will also be housed within an “existing dome” capable of rotating at a speed of at least 10 degrees per second, according to the RFI. Competitors have been asked to provide Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs for their proposed solutions. Industry proposals are also due before deadline of April 28.
“This project represents the initial stages of a UK Space Agency and UK Space Command endeavour to provide space data for both civilian and military purposes, in accordance with the National Space Strategy,” said the UK MoD spokesperson. “It is too early to say when the capability will be operational as this project is still in its initial scoping stages.”
The spokesperson told Breaking Defense that specific details relating to sensor testing “will depend on project decisions that are yet to be made” but thorough testing and calibration will occur prior to any operational use.
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The UK currently relies on RAF Fylingdales in Yorkshire, England, as its primary military space sensor and situational awareness radar base. The base has been operational since 1963 and offers a missile warning and space surveillance capability.
Development of new SDA capabilities are however a key part of the UK’s Defence Space Strategy, published in 2022.
It noted at the time that the Defence SDA program would be “boosted by an addition of over £85M ($106 million) over the next 10 years,” and contribute to “existing allied and commercial data sources using assured sensor capabilities required for national object classification and attribution.”
UK Space Command, based at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire in south east England, was first stood up in April 2021 and leads on national military space operations, acquisition programs and force generation.
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