Astroscale
About
About Astroscale
Astroscale builds servicing spacecraft around rendezvous, proximity operations and controlled interaction with another object in orbit. Its guidance, navigation and control stack combines visual, infrared, LiDAR and laser sensing with onboard autonomy, propulsion and reaction wheels for six-degree-of-freedom manoeuvring. Magnetic docking plates support prepared satellites, while robotic or alternative capture mechanisms address debris and unprepared targets.
ELSA-d demonstrated repeated magnetic capture and release of a client spacecraft, establishing core operations for end-of-life removal. ADRAS-J later approached and inspected an unprepared large debris object before completing operations and beginning deorbit. Astroscale is extending those capabilities into inspection, life extension, refuelling and active debris-removal missions for commercial and government customers. Its operating model covers mission design, servicing spacecraft and ground control, making the company an on-orbit infrastructure provider spanning mission design, servicing spacecraft and ground control.
Supply
Supply chain relationships
- Orbit Fab
Inbound - In Space Services - Astroscale signed a take-or-pay purchase for Orbit Fab xenon refueling service
Source
Funding
- 2020-10-13 - Series E - $51M - Astroscale closes $51 million Series E
Astroscale closed a $51 million Series E led by aSTART, bringing total capital raised to $191 million for its global on-orbit servicing programme. - source: astroscale.com
Financials
- 186A.T - Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market - JPY
Team
- Nobu Okada - Representative Director and President, Group CEO - Founded the operating group and leads its global on-orbit servicing strategy.
- Christopher Blackerby - Director and Group COO - Leads group operations across Astroscale's international on-orbit servicing businesses.
- Nobuhiro Matsuyama - Director and Deputy President, Group CFO - Leads group finance and capital-markets work for the Tokyo-listed parent.
Timeline
Events
- 2026-03-25 - Production Milestone - ADRAS-J completes mission operations and begins controlled deorbit
ADRAS-J approached an unprepared three-tonne rocket upper stage and captured close-range imagery. The mission validated rendezvous, proximity operations and autonomous collision avoidance, including approaches to roughly 15 metres. Astroscale said the results support the follow-on ADRAS-J2 debris-removal mission planned for fiscal 2027.
Source - 2022-01-11 - Commercial Order - Astroscale signs first commercial on-orbit fuel purchase with Orbit Fab
The agreement covers up to 1,000 kilograms of xenon for Astroscale's LEXI servicer fleet. LEXI was designed to integrate Orbit Fab's RAFTI interface and receive fuel from a GEO shuttle. The signed take-or-pay contract was Orbit Fab's first commercial fuel-sale agreement.
Source - 2020-10-13 - Funding - Astroscale closes $51 million Series E
aSTART led the $51 million Series E, with Hulic, I-NET, Shimizu and SPARX Space Frontier Fund among the investors. The close brought Astroscale's stated cumulative capital raised to $191 million. Astroscale said the financing would support debris-removal and on-orbit servicing technology, business development and policy work.
Source
Notes
Profile notes
- Effective Space continued as an Astroscale programme, not as an acquired operating company
reviewed 2026-07-20 - Astroscale acquired Effective Space's intellectual property and other assets and hired members of its team rather than buying a continuing operating company. The Space Drone servicing concept became the basis of Astroscale's geostationary life-extension work, so the programme has technical continuity while Effective Space itself does not have ordinary corporate continuity.
Source
Commercial
- Astroscale signs first commercial on-orbit fuel purchase with Orbit Fab
2022-01-11 · Order / contract · Astroscale U.S. signed a take-or-pay agreement for Orbit Fab to supply up to 1,000 kilograms of xenon to its LEXI servicing spacecraft in geostationary orbit.
Source