The United States and the United Kingdom carried out their first joint military operation in space from September 4 to 12. The two countries carried out a coordinated proximity maneuver between the US surveillance satellite USA 271 and the British SKYNET 5A military communications satellite in geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km altitude. The Chinese Shiyan 12-01 spy satellite passed just 83 km below the allied spacecraft during the operation, details of which were revealed on September 18. The mission, praised as a first by UK Space Command, falls under Operation Olympic Defender, a multinational initiative launched in 2019 to coordinate allied space operations. It marks an expansion of Britain’s role in military space operations, with UK Space Command established in 2021.
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