Astroscale set for next phase of developing its space debris removal mission

Oxford's Astroscale, the space-focused global sustainability group, has been awarded a £1.95 million (excluding tax) contract by the UK Space Agency to continue developing its Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) spacecraft.

The latter is the firm's solution for a UK national active debris removal (ADR) mission to remove two inactive British satellites from space.

READ MORE: Astroscale opens Oxfordshire facility to build space debris removal craft

"We’re delighted to have been awarded this UK Space Agency contract to progress the further development of a UK ADR mission towards implementation,” said Nick Shave, managing director of Astroscale UK.

"Our UK ADR mission design ensures a low-risk approach because it is based on flight-proven heritage from Astroscale missions in-orbit now such as ELSA-d and ADRAS-J, plus many mission elements from our UK-focused industrial supply chain with flight heritage."

Shave highlighted that the space industry continued to set new records for the number of satellites launched into orbit, with more than 2,780 launched in 2023 alone.

"While these satellites deliver valuable services back to people on Earth, we also need to make sure we protect the space environment and develop new ways to remove space debris," he said.

The next phase of the mission will focus on "maturing and de-risking key technologies" identified in the previous UK ADR phases, such as the robotic capture system and debris detumbling capabilities.

In July 2024, Astroscale UK announced the signing of a contract for the final phase of the ELSA-M in-orbit demonstration as part of a project between the European Space Agency and Eutelsat Group with support from the UK Space Agency.

This ground-breaking mission will be the world’s first commercial end-of-life service for prepared satellites and is set to launch in the fiscal year ending in April 2026 ahead of the COSMIC mission.