February 18 will go down in Astroscale history as the day ADRAS-J was successfully launched! Lifting off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand at 2:52 pm UTC, the ADRAS-J mission had an excellent start with initial spacecraft checkouts ahead of schedule.

Eddie Kato, president and managing director of Astroscale Japan, expressed the significance of this achievement, stating, “ADRAS-J is monumental for us as a company and for the entire sector as the mission will demonstrate the essential RPO capabilities for future on-orbit services. Thank you to all the Astroscale team, JAXA, our partners and supporters for their commitment and dedication to getting us to this point.”

Then on February 22, we announced that our team started rendezvous operations, using the propulsion system to maneuver towards the client orbit. ADRAS-J is designed to rendezvous with an unprepared Japanese H2A upper stage rocket body, measuring approximately 11 meters in length, 4 meters in diameter, and weighing approximately 3 tons.

The client being an unprepared client presents several challenges. For instance, the client does not transmit any GPS data on its own, so its precise location is not provided. The condition of the structure of the client is also unknown. In addition, the attitude and altitude of the client cannot be controlled, and the client cannot be communicated with. Given these factors, the ADRAS-J mission will demonstrate the most challenging RPO capabilities necessary for on-orbit services. 

The real challenge of our mission is unfolding as you read this, and we're committed to providing updates on our progress. Follow ADRAS-J's journey on our website and social media as we chart the course of this groundbreaking mission!

Around the world

• Mar. 6-7: Join us at Space Comm Expo and connect with the Astroscale UK team at stand H18 to talk all things space sustainability!
• Mar. 18-21: Astroscale will be exhibiting and speaking at SATELLITE. Find the team in the exhibit hall at booth 1318 and don't miss Dr. Jason Forshaw's panel, Decluttering Space: The Future of Sustainable Space Policy.
• Apr. 8-11: Space Symposium is just around the corner! Our team will be in the South Hall at booth #519 and ready to discuss all the big announcements we've made this year, spanning inspection missions to refueling initiatives.

In the media

• “Ten years ago, people thought that our founder was crazy for even talking about space debris,” Ron Lopez told CNN while strolling past the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. “Now you can’t go to a space conference without a panel or a series of talks on space sustainability and the debris issue.” Check out the full conversation with Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir, in this video with CNN.
• Our mission to make space sustainable and pave the way for future services is making waves in the media, thanks to the start of our ADRAS-J mission. Bloomberg, Forbes, MIT Tech Review, and Ars Technica are all buzzing about the urgency of our cause and ADRAS-J also featured in Payload, MSN, and SpaceNews. 
• The successful start of ADRAS-J naturally garnered attention in its home country of Japan, appearing in leading media outlets such as, NHK, Nikkei, and Yomiuri.
• A big thank you to the UK Space Agency for writing about ADRAS-J  and its pivotal role in shaping the future of space sustainability.
• Congratulations to our Managing Director of Astroscale UK, Nick Shave, on being named one of the top 20 leaders of the UK by Orbital Today! In a rapidly growing UK space industry, strong leadership like Nick's is crucial for guiding companies towards success, and we're proud to share and celebrate this recognition!