ClearSpace, founded in 2018, is an in-orbit servicing company focused on developing technologies for space debris removal and sustainable space operations. They are building capabilities for a range of in-orbit services, including debris disposal, satellite life extension, in-orbit transport, inspection, repair, and recycling. ClearSpace's major partners and customers include the European Space Agency (ESA) and the UK Space Agency, with whom they are working on active debris removal missions like ClearSpace-1 and CLEAR. Associated keywords: space debris removal, in-orbit servicing, active debris removal (ADR), space sustainability, robotics, ESA, UK Space Agency.
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The European Space Agency finalized an 86,000,000 EUR contract with Swiss start-up ClearSpace SA to complete the world’s first space debris removal mission.
ESA signed a contract with ClearSpace on 2020-11-13 to complete the safe deorbiting of a payload adapter launched aboard the second flight of the Arianespace Vega rocket in 2013.
Once launched, ClearSpace-1 will be deployed into a 500-kilometer orbit for commissioning and testing before being raised to the target orbit for rendezvous and capture.
ESA will supply key technology for the ClearSpace-1 mission developed by the agency’s Clean Space initiative as part of its Active Debris Removal/In-Orbit Servicing project.
ClearSpace plans to undertake a series of increasingly ambitious follow-on missions after completion of ClearSpace-1 with the goal of developing single spacecraft capable of capturing multiple objects.
The Clean Space technologies to be supplied for ClearSpace-1 include advanced guidance, navigation and control systems, vision-based AI, and robotic arms.
Switzerland led the funding allocation for ClearSpace-1 as the home nation of ClearSpace SA, with the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Poland, and Sweden as other major contributors.
The ClearSpace-1 chaser spacecraft has a mass of 500 kg and is slated to launch aboard a Vega-C rocket in 2025.
The ClearSpace-1 spacecraft features cameras, radar, and LIDAR for navigation and four articulating tentacles designed to capture the target object.
The 86,000,000 EUR supplied by ESA will be supplemented with an additional 24,000,000 EUR that ClearSpace is raising from commercial investors.
The ClearSpace One mission is part of a EUR 100 million space debris removal project led by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Researchers at the EPFL Space Center have worked on space debris capture systems since 2010, and their engineering knowledge contributed to the development of ClearSpace One.
ClearSpace One will capture the discarded VESPA upper stage (VEga Secondary Payload Adapter) from a rocket launched in 2013 and guide it into the Earth’s atmosphere.
ClearSpace SA, as a start-up, was selected to lead the EUR 100 million ESA space debris removal project consortium.
ClearSpace selected 20 partners for the European Space Agency program to build its debris removal spacecraft.
ClearSpace’s ClearSpace-1 team has until March 2021 to finish designing the debris removal spacecraft.
ClearSpace plans to launch its debris removal spacecraft in 2025 to deorbit a leftover Vega rocket structure.
Swiss startup ClearSpace is leading a European consortium focused on capturing a Vespa payload adapter in 2025 and deorbiting it.
ClearSpace received a European Space Agency contract in December to deorbit a derelict rocket upper stage in 2025.
ClearSpace was selected for a roughly $130,000,000 mission to deorbit a piece of rocket debris for the European Space Agency.