Astroscale

Astroscale Holdings develops on-orbit servicing and related solutions. The company was initially established in Singapore in 2013 but moved headquarters to Japan in 2019. The company also has subsidiaries in the UK, the US, and Israel. In 2019, the company was named Forbes Japan startup of the year as well as being included in Time’s list of 100 most influential companies in 2022.

Services provided by the company include Active Debris Removal (ADR), space situational awareness, End of Life (EOL) and Life Extension (LEX) for satellites, as well as customizable docking plates. In March 2021, the company successfully launched End-of-Life Services by the Astrocale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission, which won the 2021 satellite technology of the year award, to safely remove orbital debris equipped with proximity rendezvous technology and a magnetic docking mechanism, which, in 2022 was in orbit and in the process of gearing up for the ELSA-m (multiple client removal version of ELSA-d) mission set to launch in April 2026.

In July 2024, the company’s Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) mission successfully completed its controlled fly-around operations 50 m away from an H-2A rocket's upper stage debris. This operation marked a key milestone as the first global endeavor to securely reach and examine the state of an existing piece of debris.

Key customers and partnerships

The company has partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) on several occasions (e.g.: In December 2018, it entered into a technical cooperation for the exchange of data and expertise relating to space debris monitoring and collision avoidance and was awarded a EUR 800,000 (~USD 861,328) contract to lead a collision avoidance study in March 2022). The UK Space Agency also awarded the company a bid to study removal of two defunct satellites from space as a part of UK’s ADR mission, which was set to be operational in 2025.

In February 2020, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) selected Astroscale for phase I of its first debris removal project as a commercial partner and in August 2022 for phase II. The company would be responsible for the manufacturing, launch, and operation of the satellite for JAXA’s demonstration mission CRD2. Furthermore, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) renewed a contract with the company for robotic arm and hand development in April 2022. Astroscale also signed an MOU in July 2021 with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to collaborate on ADR missions and other space sustainability projects.

In February 2023 , the company formed a new partnership with Mitsubishi Electric to jointly develop and manufacture satellite buses for Japanese national security constellations. In June 2023, Astroscale partnered with Share My Space, a French space surveillance startup, to enhance space object surveillance and mitigate collision risks. Later that month, the company signed a contract with the French national space agency, Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), to conduct a funded study on active debris removal (ADR) of French space debris and the identification of specific debris in early 2024.

In August 2024, Astroscale’s UK subsidiary signed an MoU with Airbus Defense and Space to enhance navigation and docking technologies for satellites and debris removal, combine Airbus’s satellite manufacturing with its in-orbit technologies, and for the maintenance of satellites. During the same month, the company secured the lead for Phase II of JAXA’s Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) contract valued at ~CNY 13 billion (~USD 90.3 million).