Earlier this month, the Chief of the Air Staff highlighted the RAF’s (www.raf.mod.uk) role in the launch and operation of the Carbonite-2 demonstrator satellite, which is now in space and giving the RAF full-motion colour video from space for the first time.

The programme could eventually see high-tech satellites beaming video directly into the cockpit of fighter jets, improving the situational awareness of UK pilots by giving them the very best imagery and information anywhere on
Earth in real time.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier visited Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (www.sstl.co.uk) in Guildford (the company behind the technology) for a gathering to mark the successful launch and operation of the satellite.

He said: “It is entirely fitting that we have launched this highly capable satellite in the centenary year of the Royal Air Force.

"We have always been at the leading edge of technology, constantly innovating and expanding our horizons.

This satellite will not only expand further the RAF’s growing Air and Space capabilities, it will — I hope — also be an inspiration to those young people looking towards technology as a way to realise their potential.”

The MoD invested £4.5 million in the programme with Surrey Satellite Technology just eight months ago, and the satellite was launched from Sriharikhota in India.

Weighing 100kg and roughly the size of an average washing machine, the satellite carries an off-the-shelf telescope and HD video camera, both of which have been adapted for space and integrated into a custom-built framework.

The imaging system is designed to deliver high-resolution images and colour HD video clips with a swath width of 5km.