Astroscale, Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Tokyo, is a global space company solely dedicated to the long-term sustainability of outer space. Specializing in on-orbit servicing and space debris removal, the company addresses some of the most critical challenges in Earth’s orbital environment.
Astroscale leads in technologies such as magnetic docking, rendezvous operations, and autonomous proximity maneuvers. Their pioneering ELSA-d mission demonstrated core capabilities in debris inspection and capture, while ongoing advancements support satellite life extension and refueling in both LEO and GEO.
Product & Services
Astroscale offers services for debris removal, satellite servicing and situational awareness. Key offerings include active debris removal (ADRAS-J), geostationary satellite refueling (Life Extension) and satellite inspection via CubeSat constellations:
End-of-Life Services (ELSA): Designed for the safe removal of defunct satellites using magnetic capture technology. ELSA-d proved these operations through autonomous docking demonstrations, while the upcoming ELSA-M will be capable of capturing multiple pieces of debris in a single mission. The rise of large commercial satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) will provide services that improve quality of life on Earth. They will also lead to an increase in the number of objects in key orbits, raising the risk of further debris creation and threatening the very services space systems provide.
Active Debris Removal (ADRAS-J): This mission inspects and assesses large, unprepared space debris using advanced rendezvous and proximity operations to enable safe, future removal missions.
Life Extension Services: Astroscale’s upcoming GEO servicing missions will refuel satellites in orbit, extending their operational life. These missions focus on hydrazine-based refueling in collaboration with government agencies. As satellite operators face an increasingly competitive environment and evolving end-user demands, solving the challenge of optimizing asset & fleet utilization is more critical than ever. Yet the solutions in use today remain limited. Astroscale’s LEXI – Life Extension Services In-orbit is a robust and cost-effective solution that opens a range of new choices and enhanced flexibility for fleet management.
In-Situ Space Situational Awareness (ISSA): Using compact satellites like CubeSats, Astroscale provides real-time space environment monitoring to detect debris, anomalies, and changes in satellite behavior—vital for both defense and commercial space operations. ISSA includes the location, close approach and rendezvous with an object, followed by the acquisition of in-space data to better understand the movement characteristics of the object.
Missions
Cosmic: The Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) will harness Astroscale’s rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) and robotic debris capture capabilities to remove two defunct British satellites currently orbiting Earth, to launch in the next few years. COSMIC debris removal servicer will be a technological evolution of ELSA-M — a commercial partnership together with the European and UK Space Agencies and OneWeb, a large global satellite operator. COSMIC leverages technology matured in our ELSA-d in-orbit demonstration.
ADRAS-J: The ADRAS-J mission will be the world’s first attempt to safely approach and characterize an existing piece of large debris through Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) and is the start of a full-fledged debris removal service. ADRAS-J paves the way for that future by providing unprecedented insights on the behavior and condition of a large debris object in orbit. The ADRAS-J spacecraft was selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) for Phase I of its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project (CRD2), one of the world’s first technology demonstrations of removing large-scale debris from orbit. ADRAS-J will demonstrate Astroscale’s RPO by locating, approaching, orbiting around, and gathering data on an upper-stage rocket body currently in low Earth orbit.
ELSA-d: ELSA-d consists of two spacecraft: a servicer satellite (~175kg) and a client satellite (~17kg), launched stacked together. The servicer satellite has been developed to safely remove debris objects from orbit, equipped with proximity rendezvous technologies and a magnetic docking mechanism. ELSA-d will demonstrate several capabilities and technologies needed for future on-orbit services. While the mission will prove technologies that can be directly applied to customers, there are some slight differences to a future servicing mission.
Lunar Dream Capsule Project: The Lunar Dream Capsule is a time capsule that gives people a chance to send their names into space. Partnering with Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Astroscale has specially designed and developed a capsule that will bring names to the Moon in the hope that future generations will be able to visit someday and retrieve it. The Lunar Dream Capsule Project will be taking the Capsule throughout Japan and selective countries in Asia to collect handwritten messages from people which will then be laser etched onto titanium plates to be packed inside the Capsule.
Mission Operations and Ground Systems: Astroscale’s Mission Operations and Ground Systems capabilities are based in the UK with support from the Satellite Team in Japan. The Mission Planning System is designed to handle the demands of a complex series of Client satellite captures, requiring uninterrupted streams of telemetry when switching between four ground station providers across sixteen locations, including Astroscale’s ground station in Totsuka, Japan and stations managed by SSC, KSAT and ATLAS Space Operations.
Astroscale is shaping the future of responsible space operations. Through cutting-edge technology and global partnerships, the company is setting new standards in protecting and servicing the orbital ecosystem.
