At just 25 years old Flying Officer Karl Cassar not only commands a of a team of specialists monitoring space 24/7 but in his free time transfers his skills and talents onto the rugby pitch.
Originally from Wakefield, Karl has been selected to represent the Mediterranean Island through his Grandfather, who was born and raised in Malta during World War 2. He has represented Malta on several occasions, most recently at the European Championship series games in Turkey. It is a privilege afforded to a handful of individuals as just four overseas players can be selected to make up the 17-man squad.
Karl pictured on the left with his Maltese teammates
Karl said: “I am very proud of my Maltese heritage and it’s an honour to play Rugby at international level. I have always been passionate about Rugby League, and love being part of this team.”
That team philosophy translates into the work Karl does at RAF Fylingdales. As a Crew Commander Karl is responsible for a five-person team that, along with civilian counterparts, routinely track objects in space including the International Space Station and more recently the Russian ASAT event.
Karl went on to say: “The success of our mission depends on the will and commitment of the entire team. The focus and dedication that is required as an operator doing what we do 24/7 resonates on the rugby pitch.”
The European Rugby tournament may be over, but the RAF Fylingdales mission continues….
RAF Fylingdales sits on the North York Moors and has been an iconic landmark for the last 58 years. The Ballistic Missile Early Warning Site, or BMEWS as it is known detects objects with a ballistic trajectory that could be a threat to the UK and our allies. The RADAR has the capability to look 3,000 miles into space and detect an object as small as the size of a Coca-Cola can, the RADAR can track satellites, space debris and space launches.
RAF Fylingdales is the only UK Military Ballistic Missile Sensor seeing into space - tracking objects in space is daily business similar to an air traffic control network but much bigger and with quicker response times. RAF Fylingdales tracks objects to keep space safe, ensuring objects are exactly where they should be to avoid collisions and plays a key safety role for manned space vehicles.
