TopSat- Assessing the Military Utility of a Tactical ISTAR Demonstrator

Launched on 25 October 2005, TopSat is a small (<110kg) low-cost (~ $28M), electro-optical (EO) imaging satellite demonstrator designed, built and operated by an industrial British consortium led by QinetiQ under contract to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the British National Space Centre (BNSC). Despite early technical difficulties, the programme demonstrated that the UK could successfully build and operate a small, low cost, satellite that could be tasked quickly and provide very fresh imagery. It also provided potential users with insights into how a future system might be employed. The military utility of TopSat was assessed by the UK MoD TopSat Users Group (TUG) through an evaluation of the performance of the satellite system during a series of operational experiment trials through 2006-2007. The TUG comprised participants from front line Commands and other MoD organisations, and was assembled specifically to undertake the assessment of the military utility of TopSat. This paper presents the joint assessment made by the TUG and includes the conclusions and lessons drawn from the programme relevant to the implementation of responsive space