PPRuNe Forums - UK Space Command

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- - UK Space Command - 1 April 2021 (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/639534-uk-space-command-1-april-2021-a.html)

Have I missed something? Is this for scopies and other forms of '3rd man in the cockpit'?!

One more sleep till launch. The anticipation is killing me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by esscee (Post 11018589)

Any statement that has April 1st should be taken "with a pinch of salt".

But I believe that the RAF was founded on 1st April 1918. Should I take thee RAF with a pinch of salt?, or the whole salt mine? Well, I only arsked.

What's really needed is some 'space' combat medals to go with those wings...

1st April 1965. My commissioning date. Always in good company.

When will the first press conference be held by the PM with Sir Hubert Guest and Professor Peabody?

And hopefully with a celebratory fly-by by "Anastasia"

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield...-capabilities/

Royal Air Force invests in space capabilities

Quote:

Originally Posted by ORAC (Post 11045928)

Royal Air Force invests in space capabilities

Social distancing? ;)

I see that the first “Space Operators” non flying badges have been presented, so it wasn’t an April fool. Congratulations to all those who have achieved the standard but now we have Squadron numbers for all sorts of non flying units, and flying badges for non flying personnel. Oh dear! I know that moving with the times is important, but so are tradition and ethos.

Quote:

Oh dear! I know that moving with the times is important, but so are tradition and ethos.

Per Ardua Ad Astra….

The new badge can be seen via this BBC report - scroll down as required:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58029083

Who will be the first to get a Ultraviolet or Infrared endorsement? Of course we still have (I think) the Space Drome at Spadeadam, just needs a bit of a clean up to get it up and running.

Well done RAF, moving forwards and creating new badges, traditions, units, culture and customs whilst still giving a nod to the past with the single wing design.

When are this lot going into orbit then!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....28089a044f.jpg

I’m confused.

Why did you post a picture of a slightly aging Austin Powers with a bunch of senior officers?

BV

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchbitch (Post 11087545)

Well done RAF, moving forwards and creating new badges, traditions, units, culture and customs whilst still giving a nod to the past with the single wing design.

An entirely reasonable view, but my point is this: If the Space Operations specialisation is so different to, say ATC or ABM as to warrant a badge on the left breast, a space TRADITIONALLY reserved for flying badges, then I wish they had designed an entirely new badge. In my view the use of the single wing for a non flying trade devalues those awarded to flyers over the last 102 years.

I wonder if the senior RAF officers in the picture would be smiling so broadly if the Space Ops people had been awarded pilot’s wings with the space ops symbol in the middle?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timelord (Post 11087598)

An entirely reasonable view, but my point is this: If the Space Operations specialisation is so different to, say ATC or ABM as to warrant a badge on the left breast, a space TRADITIONALLY reserved for flying badges, then I wish they had designed an entirely new badge. In my view the use of the single wing for a non flying trade devalues those awarded to flyers.

I wonder if the senior RAF officers in the picture would be smiling so broadly if the Space Ops people had been awarded pilot’s wings with the space ops symbol in the middle?

I presume the badge is worn on the left breast to make it easy to tap when you need to talk to the bridge. The single wing is superfluous, in space you don't need no wings! If they resurrect a replacement to the shuttle programme in the future. a set of glider wings should suffice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timelord (Post 11087598)

It’s not for a non-flying trade - Aircrew can qualify for it and wear it, should they wish. Also, non-flying branches and trades have had their own flying badges since 1982:

Fighter Control “FC” single wing for Air Ops and Non Commissioned Controllers on Shacks and Sentry.
Airborne Technician “AT” single wing for TG1 engineers on Sentry and Rivet Joint.
Airborne Imagery Analyst “IA” single wing for TG11 Int Analysts on Sentinel.
Airborne Specialist “RAF” single wing for the above 3, which are now obsolete, and the Mission Intelligence Coordinators (MICs) of TG11 that operate parts of the MQ9 Reaper, and very recently TG19 AGS who are Cabin Crew on Voyager and BAe 146.

The Space Operators Badge has a silver wing, compared to all RAF Flying Badges have an ecru-colour drab silk wing (or they should have). So side by side, they are different. As for wearing badges on the breast, the space operators were already doing that with the USAF’s version - which horror of horrors has 2 ‘wings’!

As a single wing flying badge wearer I really can’t get too stuffy about this (2 kinds as well!). The Space Ops Badge looks different enough to both of my flying badges that I am entitled to wear, so I really don’t give 2 hoots. In fact, for anyone that qualifies for the Space Ops Badge, all I can say is - well done!

As for wings in space. Here are the US military’s Astronaut badges - it doesn’t seem to worry them!!

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6c511fa8f.jpeg

I have to say that I am really worried about the Space Command pseudo brevet (or whatever we're calling it) as that's a whole load more people at Air Command who will be unable to remove their wooly pullovers whatever the temperature. Maybe that's why their boss has directed them to come to work in their combat PJs (or maybe it's so they can pretend to be 'Joint', where 'Joint' = Army).