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.
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Astroscale's Series A funding round in 2015 raised $7.7 million, marking a shift towards private-led innovation in Asia.
Astroscale is one of the largest commercial space firms in Japan, focused on space servicing and debris removal.
Astroscale received a $47.5 million contract from the Japanese Ministry of Defense to develop a rendezvous and proximity operations demonstrator for geostationary orbit.
Astroscale won a CRD2 Phase II contract to conduct proximity operations with an H-II upper stage in 2024.
Astroscale received a Phase 1 contract under JAXA's Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program.
NASA has selected proposals for three-year, fixed-price contracts from seven companies, including Astroscale U.S. Inc. in Denver, BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado, Busek Co. Inc in Natick, Massachusetts, L3Harris Technologies Inc. in Rochester, New York, Lockheed Martin Inc. in Palo Alto, California, Northrop Grumman Inc. in Redondo Beach, California, and Zecoat Co. Inc. in Granite City, Illinois.
The Japan Ministry of Defense awarded Astroscale Japan a contract worth $1 billion yen ($6.4 million) to develop a gripping mechanism for national satellites.
The contract period for the Ministry of Defense with Astroscale is from December 2025 to March 2028.
Astroscale plans to develop a generic gripping mechanism system and conduct ground demonstrations.
Astroscale also received a contract from the Ministry of Defense in February 2025 for the prototype of a maneuvering response space system.
Astroscale, a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings in Japan, received a new contract from the Ministry of Defense for research on satellite monitoring and defense technology for 1 billion yen on January 5.
The project awarded to Astroscale involves research on gripping mechanisms necessary for inspecting and continuing operations of domestic satellites in orbit.
Astroscale has experience providing services for debris removal, fuel replenishment, orbital control, and inspection.
The contract awarded to Astroscale Ltd is a follow-up to a study conducted with BAE Systems in March of the same year.
Astroscale Holdings, through its UK subsidiary Astroscale Ltd, received a €399,000 contract from the European Space Agency for an In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service, with a contract period of 8 months.
Astroscale's method allows for capturing tumbling satellites with unprecedented fuel efficiency and safety.
Astroscale's technology enables a servicer to reposition itself around the client body using conservation of angular momentum.
Astroscale Holdings Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent No. 12,479,603 B2 for a method of capturing erratic space debris.
By removing the need for fuel penalties, Astroscale makes maintenance of orbital infrastructure commercially viable.
Astroscale's patent supports the development of In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) technologies.