Astroscale is a public, on-orbit servicing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, committed to the safe and sustainable development of space. As the first private company dedicated to in-orbit servicing across all orbits, Astroscale develops innovative solutions for end-of-life services, active debris removal, in-situ space situational awareness, and life extension of satellites. They work with government and commercial stakeholders like JAXA, U.S. Space Force, ESA, and OneWeb to develop norms and technologies for responsible space operations, aiming to mitigate the growing hazard of space debris.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Astroscale associates Miki Ito with the development of industrial initiatives intended to strengthen orbital debris management capabilities.
The Astroscale post linked the UNOOSA-promoted regulatory framework to the scaling of industrial operational capabilities in on-orbit servicing and debris removal.
Aarti Holla-Maini visited Astroscale headquarters.
Astroscale develops technologies for on-orbit servicing and controlled removal of non-operational space objects.
The visit to Astroscale included a clean room tour where multiple satellites were in integration or preparation.
Mitsui Sumitomo Finance & Leasing (SMFL) and its strategic subsidiary SMFL Mirai Partners signed a memorandum of understanding with Astroscale on February 20 to create a secondary-use market for satellites including development of an operating-lease business that uses on-orbit services.
The memorandum between SMFL, SMFL Mirai Partners, and Astroscale will explore combining each party’s strengths to develop and co-create services that integrate on-orbit services with leasing.
Astroscale’s on-orbit services aim to move satellite and rocket development away from a disposable model and realize a circular economy in space to enhance the sustainability of satellite operations.
Astroscale is developing on-orbit services for debris removal, observation and inspection, life extension and refueling, reuse and replacement, and manufacturing and repair of space assets.
Exotrail has a partnership with Astroscale France to develop deorbiting capabilities for orbital mobility and sustainability services.
Astroscale Japan will work under the Space Strategy Fund program theme of technology to realize flexible spatial mobility.
Astroscale Japan’s orbital transfer vehicle and on-orbit refueling work is intended to move and service spacecraft across orbits.
Astroscale Japan’s effort under the Space Strategy Fund focuses on combining the development and demonstration of orbital transfer vehicles with core on-orbit refueling systems.
The European Space Agency awarded a contract valued at more than $475,000 to Astroscale UK to lead the design of the In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS).
The European Space Agency awarded a contract valued at approximately $475,807.50 to Astroscale UK to lead the design of the In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS).
Astroscale’s existing Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) technology provides the foundation for the IRUS study and future in-orbit servicing missions.
The technical core of the partnership merges Exotrail’s mobility platforms, including spacevan™, with Astroscale’s specialized servicing hardware and rendezvous-and-proximity-operations (RPO) technology.
The partnership combines Exotrail’s mission leadership on vehicles and maneuvers with Astroscale France’s capture and close-proximity operations expertise.
Astroscale France and Exotrail announced a strategic partnership on January 28, 2026 to develop and demonstrate controlled deorbiting capabilities for satellites in Low Earth Orbit.
Astroscale was founded in 2013 by CEO Nobu Okada after attending conferences on space entrepreneurship.