{"id":42519,"date":"2026-07-22T18:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/uk-space-agency-delays-75-6-million-active-debris-removal-contract-award\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T18:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:50:41","slug":"uk-space-agency-delays-75-6-million-active-debris-removal-contract-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/uk-space-agency-delays-75-6-million-active-debris-removal-contract-award\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Space Agency Delays \u00a375.6 Million Active Debris Removal Contract Award"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The UK <svg viewBox=\"100 -1000 840 840\" width=\"calc(16.604px - 2px)\" height=\"16.604px\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><path d=\"M168-144q-29.7 0-50.85-21.15Q96-186.3 96-216v-528q0-29.7 21.15-50.85Q138.3-816 168-816h624q29.7 0 50.85 21.15Q864-773.7 864-744v528q0 29.7-21.15 50.85Q821.7-144 792-144H168Zm0-72h624v-528H168v528Zm72-96h480v-72H240v72Zm0-144h168v-216H240v216Zm240 0h240v-72H480v72Zm0-144h240v-72H480v72ZM168-216v-528 528Z\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path><\/svg>&nbsp;Space Agency (UKSA) has delayed awarding a contract for the next phase of the United Kingdom\u2019s first active orbital debris removal mission, missing its original deadline for the \u00a375.6 million program. <\/p>\n<p><svg viewBox=\"0 -960 960 960\" width=\"16.604px\" height=\"16.604px\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: inherit !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: middle !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><path d=\"M168-144q-29.7 0-50.85-21.15Q96-186.3 96-216v-528q0-29.7 21.15-50.85Q138.3-816 168-816h624q29.7 0 50.85 21.15Q864-773.7 864-744v528q0 29.7-21.15 50.85Q821.7-144 792-144H168Zm0-72h624v-528H168v528Zm72-96h480v-72H240v72Zm0-144h168v-216H240v216Zm240 0h240v-72H480v72Zm0-144h240v-72H480v72ZM168-216v-528 528Z\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path><\/svg>Astronomy<\/p>\n<p>The contract for Phase 3 of the Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission was initially scheduled to be awarded by March 30, 2026, following a tender issued in July 2025. In its latest annual report, published on July 14, the agency said it now expects to make the award during summer 2026, without providing a specific date or explaining the reason for the delay.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"6mqLoEbsxe\" style=\"height: auto !important; display: none;\">\n<p>UK Space Agency Awards Contracts to Advance In-Orbit Manufacturing<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"\u201cUK Space Agency Awards Contracts to Advance In-Orbit Manufacturing\u201d \u2014 Spacemagz\" src=\"https:\/\/spacemagz.com\/uk-space-agency-awards-contracts-to-advance-in-orbit-manufacturing\/embed\/#?secret=9lvFqBd6XO#?secret=6mqLoEbsxe\" data-secret=\"6mqLoEbsxe\" width=\"600\" height=\"574\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Mission Targets Defunct Satellites<\/h2>\n<p>The ADR mission is intended to demonstrate the capture and controlled removal of two defunct UK-licensed satellites from low Earth orbit by the end of 2028.<\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft selected for the mission were not designed for servicing or retrieval, making the project a demonstration of technologies capable of capturing unprepared and non-cooperative satellites in orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The mission forms part of broader efforts to address the growing amount of orbital debris and reduce collision risks in increasingly congested low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"fgigo1A19L\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<p>UK Space Agency Allocates \u00a37 Million to Advance Next-Generation Satellite Technologies<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"\u201cUK Space Agency Allocates \u00a37 Million to Advance Next-Generation Satellite Technologies\u201d \u2014 Spacemagz\" src=\"https:\/\/spacemagz.com\/uk-space-agency-allocates-7-million-to-advance-next-generation-satellite-technologies\/embed\/#?secret=a3QvsnGU4Q#?secret=fgigo1A19L\" data-secret=\"fgigo1A19L\" width=\"600\" height=\"387\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Budget Approval Exceeds Original Estimate<\/h2>\n<p>When UKSA issued the Phase 3 procurement, it estimated the contract would be worth \u00a363 million before value-added tax, or \u00a375.6 million including VAT.<\/p>\n<p>However, spending records published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which oversees UKSA, indicate that \u00a383.93 million excluding VAT was approved for the mission in June 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The approved funding exceeds the original estimated contract value by \u00a320.93 million, although neither DSIT nor UKSA has disclosed what the additional funding will support.<\/p>\n<h2>Two Teams Remain in Competition<\/h2>\n<p>During the first two phases of the program, UKSA funded competing mission concepts developed by the UK subsidiaries of Astroscale and ClearSpace.<\/p>\n<p>The companies\u2019 respective COSMIC and CLEAR concepts completed feasibility studies, preliminary design reviews, and technology maturation activities intended to reduce mission risk.<\/p>\n<p>Phase 3 is expected to result in the selection of one contractor to complete spacecraft development, launch, and in-orbit operations.<\/p>\n<p>UKSA has not indicated whether the procurement delay will affect the mission\u2019s planned launch and debris removal activities scheduled for 2028.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"RywT52DCbD\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<p>Canada and UK Forge Ahead with CASTOR Telescope Project in Space Exploration Partnership<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"\u201cCanada and UK Forge Ahead with CASTOR Telescope Project in Space Exploration Partnership\u201d \u2014 Spacemagz\" src=\"https:\/\/spacemagz.com\/canada-and-uk-forge-ahead-with-castor-telescope-project-in-space-exploration-partnership\/embed\/#?secret=EEak2C5wds#?secret=RywT52DCbD\" data-secret=\"RywT52DCbD\" width=\"600\" height=\"541\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK &nbsp;Space Agency (UKSA) has delayed awarding a contract for the next phase of the United Kingdom\u2019s first active orbital debris removal mission, missing its original deadline for the \u00a375.6 million program. Astronomy The contract for Phase 3 of the Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission was initially scheduled to be awarded by March 30, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9282,9182,1816,9283,1583,9284,6773,9285,244,5744,6050,2247,79,5783,6216,6217,1620],"class_list":["post-42519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-active-debris-removal","tag-adr","tag-astroscale","tag-clear","tag-clearspace","tag-cosmic","tag-department-for-science-innovation-and-technology","tag-dsit","tag-europe","tag-low-earth-orbit","tag-orbital-debris","tag-satellite-servicing","tag-space-debris","tag-space-industry","tag-uk-space-agency","tag-uksa","tag-united-kingdom"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}