Company - Astroscale
Product/Service
- Classification
- In-Space Transportation
- Category
- Active Debris Removal (ADR)
On-Orbit Servicing
Propellant Refilling
Propellant Refuel Station
- Fields
- End of Life (EOL)
In-Space Satellite Servicing
Transport Service (In-Space)
On-Orbit Servicing
- Status
- Development
- First launch
- 2020
Proposing to aid in the removal of orbital debris through the provision of End of Life (EOL) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) services.
- End-Of-Life - for defunct satellites pre-engineered for servicing
- Active Debris Removal - of large, non-prepared threatening debris currently in orbit
- Life Extension - to keep GEO satellites in operation after fuel depletion
- In Situ SSA/Inspection - to diagnose and characterize objects
ELSA-D
Astroscale’s ELSA-d Finalizes De-Orbit Operations Marking Successful Mission Conclusion, 2024-01-24.
- ELSA-d was the world’s first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for on-orbit satellite servicing in low Earth orbit (LEO). The mission, which consisted of two satellites — a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client that serves as a piece of replica debris — was launched as a stack from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in March 2021.
- ELSA-d was the world’s first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for on-orbit satellite servicing in low Earth orbit (LEO). The mission, which consisted of two satellites — a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client that serves as a piece of replica debris — was launched as a stack from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in March 2021.
ELSA-M
The Astroscale-UK company has unveiled its concept to remove a defunct British satellite from orbit.
- The Oxfordshire-based company wants to send up a sophisticated robot arm to grab hold of the dead hardware.
- This junk would then be sent downwards to burn up in the atmosphere.
- The UK government is running a competition to find the best solution to clear up historic debris. The winner will run demonstrate its technology in late 2026 or early 2027.
LEXI
Astroscale reveals concept of operations for its in-orbit refueling vehicle, SpaceNews, 2024-01-17
- Astroscale is developing an in-space refueling vehicle that will shuttle back and forth between a fuel depot in geostationary Earth orbit and a client satellite.
- Named APS-R, for Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling, the vehicle will be a small satellite about the size of a gas pump, designed to conduct multiple refueling missions in GEO.
- APS-R will rendezvous and dock with a fuel depot operated by Orbit Fab, a startup developing so-called gas stations in space. The company is working on a hydrazine fueling station to be deployed 36,000 kilometers above Earth, partly funded by a $13.3 million contract from the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit.
- According to Astroscale’s concept of operations, a potential client satellite receiving fuel could be the company’s Life Extension In-Orbit (LEXI), designed to perform life extension services in geostationary orbit. Astroscale two years ago announced plans to launch LEXI in 2026 and signed an agreement with Orbit Fab for refueling services.
News
- The companies said July 2023 the first docking plate would be attached to an undisclosed satellite later this year for a launch in the fourth quarter of 2024.
- It is the first time 10-year-old Astroscale has announced a commercial partnership for the hardware, as work continues to demonstrate how upcoming servicers could perform de-orbit and life-extension missions after latching onto the docking plate.
Satellites could become more sustainable, thanks to new UK Space Agency funding, 2024-02-09
- Contracts have been awarded to Astroscale, ClearSpace and Orbit Fab for refuelling research:
- Astroscale will adapt their existing ‘COSMIC’ debris removal spacecraft to a new refuelling servicer product, partnering with TAS, Airbus Defence & Space, Orbit Fab and GMV.
Astro Digital to integrate Astroscale in-orbit servicing docking plates, SpaceNews, 2023-08-01.
- ELSA-d’s 175-kilogram servicer later lost the use of half its thrusters in early 2022, forcing Astroscale to scrap plans to recapture and de-orbit the 17-kilogram client craft.
- The End of Life Services by Astroscale-multiple mission (ELSA-m), delayed from 2024, would be designed to capture multiple satellites of up to 800 kilograms in a single mission, although follow-on clients have not been announced.
- In 2025, Astroscale plans to send a larger servicer to LEO with a mass of a few hundred kilograms to capture and de-orbit a defunct 150-kilogram OneWeb satellite, which has a compatible magnetic docking plate the Japanese venture did not provide.
- Under a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) contract, Astroscale plans to use a spacecraft launching on a Rocket Lab Electron later this year to inspect a discarded upper stage of a Japanese H2-A rocket.
Product/Service
- Classification
- Miscellaneous
- Category
- Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
- Status
- Development
- First launch
- 2020
Created: 2023-07-14
Updated: 2024-02-24
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