RAF Oakhanger
Encyclopedia
RAF Station Oakhanger was a Royal Air Force
station in Hampshire
split over three operational sites with accommodation in nearby Bordon
. The main site and operations centre was near the village of Oakhanger
with two other sites nearby. The parent station for administrative purposes was RAF Odiham
.
RAF Oakhanger was the home of No 1001 Signal Unit, responsible for supporting satellite communications services for the British Armed Forces
worldwide. The unit was made up of four sub-units; Space Operations, Ground Operations, Telemetry and Control and Support with subordinate detachments based at RAF Rudloe Manor
, RAF Colerne
and Defford
. Command and Control of the system was conducted from Oakhanger, with a planning unit based at Rudloe Manor, co-located with No1 Signal Unit and Controller Defence Communication Network. The Colerne and Defford detachments provided a ground anchoring capability for the communications spacecraft. The Defford detachment was managed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, later QinetiQ
.
Space Squadron was responsible for flying a constellation of Skynet
satellites, up to the fourth iteration of six space vehicles which supported Army
, Royal Navy
and Royal Air Force
units. The space vehicles were controlled on a permanent basis from Oakhanger with command and control traffic being passed from one of the three ground stations. Space Squadron also controlled the flight of space vehicles on behalf of NATO, with an earth station at the nearby NATO ground terminal. The constellation comprised geosynchronous
satellites, providing Earth coverage and higher power coverage over Northern Europe.
Ground services took responsibility for planning the routing of traffic via the space vehicles, from a number of locations in the United Kingdom
to either stationary ground terminals such as Germany
, Cyprus
, Ascension Island
and the Falkland Islands
or tactical ground terminals, mounted in ships or vehicles and operated by Tactical Communications Wing, 30 Signal Regiment, 16 Signal Regiment, 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron or the Royal Marines Signal Squadrons.
Support to British military satellite communications was outsourced to Paradigm Secure Communications in 2003 in a Private Finance Initiative
arrangement and the station was decommissioned, closed and handed over to Paradigm at that time.
The sites are now used to support the Skynet 5 constellation launched on behalf of Paradigm.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
split over three operational sites with accommodation in nearby Bordon
Bordon
Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 5.4 miles southeast of Alton and forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill, the adjoining village. Both settlements are on the A325 road and close to the A3 road between London and Portsmouth...
. The main site and operations centre was near the village of Oakhanger
Oakhanger, Hampshire
Oakhanger is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies west from Bordon, south of the B3004 road. The village has one pub, The Red Lion. A Roman road passed through the village but there are no visible signs of its existence. On its path is built a large space...
with two other sites nearby. The parent station for administrative purposes was RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook HC2, HC2A and HC3...
.
RAF Oakhanger was the home of No 1001 Signal Unit, responsible for supporting satellite communications services for the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
worldwide. The unit was made up of four sub-units; Space Operations, Ground Operations, Telemetry and Control and Support with subordinate detachments based at RAF Rudloe Manor
RAF Rudloe Manor
RAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box, was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Bath, United Kingdom between the towns of Box and Corsham, in Wiltshire...
, RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...
and Defford
Defford
Defford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn.Defford also has a primary school, Defford cum Besford First School,and three pubs....
. Command and Control of the system was conducted from Oakhanger, with a planning unit based at Rudloe Manor, co-located with No1 Signal Unit and Controller Defence Communication Network. The Colerne and Defford detachments provided a ground anchoring capability for the communications spacecraft. The Defford detachment was managed by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, later QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
.
Space Squadron was responsible for flying a constellation of Skynet
Skynet (satellites)
Skynet is a family of military satellites, now operated by Paradigm Secure Communications on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence, which provide strategic communication services to the three branches of the British Armed Forces and to NATO forces engaged on coalition tasks.-Skynet 1:There were two...
satellites, up to the fourth iteration of six space vehicles which supported Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
units. The space vehicles were controlled on a permanent basis from Oakhanger with command and control traffic being passed from one of the three ground stations. Space Squadron also controlled the flight of space vehicles on behalf of NATO, with an earth station at the nearby NATO ground terminal. The constellation comprised geosynchronous
Geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero. An object in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, at a fixed position in the sky, to ground observers...
satellites, providing Earth coverage and higher power coverage over Northern Europe.
Ground services took responsibility for planning the routing of traffic via the space vehicles, from a number of locations in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to either stationary ground terminals such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
and the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
or tactical ground terminals, mounted in ships or vehicles and operated by Tactical Communications Wing, 30 Signal Regiment, 16 Signal Regiment, 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron or the Royal Marines Signal Squadrons.
Support to British military satellite communications was outsourced to Paradigm Secure Communications in 2003 in a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
arrangement and the station was decommissioned, closed and handed over to Paradigm at that time.
The sites are now used to support the Skynet 5 constellation launched on behalf of Paradigm.