Michael Foale

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Flight Lieutenant Matthew "Stanny" Stannard, seconded Virgo Orbit for three years,

Fifty years after the moon landing of The Royal Air Force The First small steps into the room.

Flight Lieutenant Matthew Stannard will help The First RAF pilot to launch a satellite as part of the Ministry of defence of the £30m-Space -program.

He will swap The Cockpit of his RAF Typhoon jet to a heavier, slower Boeing 747.

The specially adapted passenger aircraft was designed to have a rocket to carry satellites into Space can start.

in an interview with the BBC in his first interview since he was selected for The Project , and Flt Lt Stannard, said its headquarters at Raf Coningsby in Lincolnshire, he was "very excited" to be joining a "very cool" Space -industry.

A handful of British men and women already have a Space : Helen Sharman and Michael Foale , together with, recently, Tim Peake, who once served in the army. Flt Lt Stannard of the RAF "the First Person is to go along this route to follow, many more".

The MoD's expenditure for the Space program is modest compared with the billions of dollars already spent by the US, China and India. But it is yet more proof that the Space of the "New Frontier " and then challenging for the defense.

working with The Virgin of the Orbit program in California, The Royal Air Force -pilot noted that "the commercial sector is the way".

'Not more valuable targets'

Historically, it has start a much larger rocket to satellite from the ground, but a Virgin Orbit it is cheaper and faster.

the specially-adapted 747 by the name of Cosmic Girl is wearing a much smaller rocket under his wing, which are triggered in the Orbit at about 30,000 feet.

The Rocket contains a small satellite of about 300kg. Lt Stannard, Flt the unique selling point said The Virgin 's Orbit is that it can be, "started from anywhere in The World ", including the UK.

The Other game changer is the satellite technology. The One that he can fire into Orbit , the "size of a washing machine, next year".

The RAF has already launched a similar small satellites into Orbit , the conventional from India last year. In the UK, developed Carbonite 2 offers high quality video to the RAF and The Plan is a "constellation" of these small satellites in Orbit , providing high quality images, Videos, and secure communication.

In theory, you will be faster and cheaper to build, to launch and to replace it, "so that they would no longer be valuable targets," Flt Lt Stannard said.

He lifts the evolving threats in the room. The United States, China, Russia and India are all developing anti-satellite weapons, missiles, lasers, and jammers.

With this threat in view of the in the UK, has also become The First official partner of the new US-led coalition has in the deter "hostile acts in Space ".

the UK is sending eight Military Personnel to join Operation Olympic Defender to cooperation with allies in the Combined Space Operations Centre in California.

These are The First small steps for the RAF in Space and with limited resources, it is must to a large extent, they rely on US and get the commercial field, beyond the earth's atmosphere.

But it is still a giant leap into the unknown, for Flt Lt Mathew Stannard.

ministry of defence, british space programme, coningsby, communications satellites, royal air force, coningsby royal air force base

Source of news: bbc.com