Astroscale U.S. applauds the release of the Orbital Sustainability Act of 2022, which would establish a landmark demonstration program to reduce the amount of space debris in-orbit! 

This bill is a stepping stone towards a brighter future space economy in which fully realized ADR capabilities work alongside other in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities to extend the value, efficiency, and operational lifetimes of space systems.  

We have received a funding boost from the UK Space Agency to continue developing our Active Debris Removal mission, COSMIC. 💫
 
This latest mission phase of The Cleaning Outer #Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) will harness Astroscale's Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) and robotic debris capture capabilities to remove two defunct British satellites currently orbiting Earth by 2026.   

The COSMIC mission will be developed in collaboration with 10 partner companies across the United Kingdom including: MDA UK, Thales Alenia Space UK, Nammo Defense Systems Inc., GMV NSL, NORSS (Northern Space and Security Ltd), Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd, Satellite Applications Catapult, Willis Towers Watson, and other advisory and industrial partners. 

We have signed a 3-year term loan agreement totaling JPY 5 billion (approx. USD 35 million) with MUFG Bank, Ltd. (“MUFG”), leveraging the Credit Guarantee Program to Facilitate Businesses to Utilize the Results of Innovative Technology Research offered by Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (“SMRJ”).  

We're happy to announce a new strategic partnership with NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. that will harness the benefits of using their precision In-Space Situational Awareness (#ISSA) services for our on-orbit servicing missions, including our forthcoming ELSA-M multi-client debris removal mission.

We're delighted to announce we recently opened our Zeus premises at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus with support from UK Space Agency CEO, Dr. Paul Bate, Air Vice Marshall Paul Godfrey, Commander of UK Space Command, Dr. Kathy Bass, Deputy Director Space Strategy and UKSA Sponsorship, BEIS and our very own CEO and Founder, Nobu Okada. We warmly welcomed many partners from across government and industry.

Astroscale's new UK premises will include a high specification satellite manufacturing facility, a Mission Control Centre, and offices for 120 staff. The facilities are designed to test, build and operate servicers for our forthcoming ELSA-M and UK Active Debris Removal Mission, COSMIC. The premises will also support the commercial development of Astroscale's in-orbit services to remove defunct satellites from low Earth orbit. See our opening video. 🎥

Events

🎧 Ever wanted a quick crash-course or review about the space business and market for debris removal in LEO? Well, here’s your chance! Listen to Chris Blackerby, our COO, explain on Market View, Prime Time. 

At Space-Comm Expo in September, we spoke to many people interested in our technology and capability.  Nick Shave, Astroscale Ltd. MD, chaired a popular panel on day two at the Keynote Theatre, 'Ensuring Safety and Sustainability of Space Activities'. He was joined by senior representatives from Slingshot Aerospace, Kayhan Space, Viasat UK, McKinsey & Company and D-Orbit and there were many questions from the audience. We held a fun-filled Scottish and Japanese single malt whisky tasting on our stand – we look forward to raising another glass soon! 

In the news

• We’re developing our supplier partnerships for our ELSA-M multi-client mission at the end of 2024. We have signed agreements with Jena-Optronik as our LIDAR supplier, AAC Clyde Space for their adapted version of their standard Starbuck power system and signed a MoU with NorthStar to generate in-space SSA data.  
• The UK ADR COSMIC funding announcement was picked up by several news outlets such as: Space News, CNBC, and Business and Innovation Magazine. It was also picked as the lead story of the day by The Times (paywall). 
• Kayhan Space, and partners Astroscale US and the University of Texas at Austin, won a U.S. Space Force contract to develop software for in-orbit servicing vehicles, the companies announced Sept. 28. The team won a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 1 award worth $250,000 under the Space Force’s Orbital Prime program. Under the contract, they will develop software to enable spacecraft to conduct proximity maneuvers autonomously. 
• We’re grateful to work with partners like the European Space Agency who showed their support for the opening of our new Astroscale UK & Europe premises.
• The UK Space Agency (UKSA) said Sept. 26 it has shortlisted groups led by startups Astroscale and ClearSpace for a mission to remove two spacecraft from low Earth orbit in 2026. The U.K. divisions of Japan-based Astroscale and ClearSpace of Switzerland won £4 million ($4.28 million) in combined follow-on contracts, following funds awarded in October to study the mission’s feasibility.