Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • Dementia Advocate Shares Tips For Supporting People With Dementia When Flying
  • SME Today talks to Sa’ed Anabtawi, Product Director, WOLF
  • The Truth Behind ‘Sickies’
  • Five ways to monetise your business EV chargers
  • New book on conquering fear of public speaking
  • 1 in 3 employees anxious about lack of first aiders at work
  • What SMEs risk when their IT provider gets bought out
  • Back to Work: Keeping your employees happy after their holiday high 
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»News»Astroscale awarded contract for next phase of a UK national Active Debris Removal mission
Image-of-Astroscale-UK-ADR-servicer-COSMIC-with-captured-client-satellite

Astroscale awarded contract for next phase of a UK national Active Debris Removal mission

0
Posted By Greg Robinson on September 12, 2024 News, Technology

Astroscale Ltd. (“Astroscale UK”), the UK subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits, has been awarded a GBP £1.95 million  contract by the UK Space Agency to continue development of its Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) spacecraft. COSMIC is Astroscale’s solution for a UK national active debris removal (ADR) mission to remove two inactive British satellites from space.

This next mission phase 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. By leveraging significant Image-of-Astroscale-UK-ADR-servicer-COSMIC-in-spaceflight heritage in rendezvous and proximity operations from Astroscale’s current missions, COSMIC will ensure delivery of an assured, safe and highly reliable UK ADR capability.

“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.”

“The global space industry continues to set new records for the number of satellites launched into orbit, with more than 2,780 launched in 2023 alone,” said Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. “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. That’s why this next phase of work towards a national ADR mission is so important. We want to build on the successful completion of the preliminary mission designs, and support Astroscale and their partners as they continue to develop and derisk this innovative technology.”

Astroscale UK’s bid for the contract incorporates experienced, UK and European industrial leaders in advanced space systems, including: Airbus Defence and Space UK, MDA UK, Nammo UK, Thales Alenia Space UK, GMV UK, AVS UK, D-Orbit UK, Redwire, DLR and Clyde&Co. Astroscale UK will also continue to collaborate with several other companies spread across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, for the development of the COSMIC servicer, leveraging the growing Astroscale UK supply chain consisting of nearly 100 companies. COSMIC will be developed, built and operated from Astroscale’s Zeus facility in the UK, presenting exceptional benefit to the UK. Furthermore, our supply chain for in-orbit servicing will strongly support the creation and sustainment of highly skilled jobs and enhanced collaboration with space clusters across the UK.

The COSMIC debris removal servicer will be a technological evolution of Astroscale’s End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-Multi-client (ELSA-M) servicer. In July 2024, Astroscale UK announced the signing of a contract with Eutelsat OneWeb for the final phase of the ELSA-M in-orbit demonstration as part of the Sunrise Partnership Project between the European Space Agency and Eutelsat Group with support from the UK Space Agency. The groundbreaking ELSA-M mission, which will be the world’s first commercial end-of-life service for prepared satellites, is set to launch in the fiscal year ending in April 2026 ahead of the COSMIC mission.

COSMIC - Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture
COSMIC – Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture

Since its launch in February 2024, the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) mission led by Astroscale Japan for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program has accomplished several major mission milestones, including the successful safe and controlled approach and fly-around operations of an unprepared Japanese upper stage rocket body while maintaining a controlled fixed-point relative position of approximately 50 meters from the upper stage. Astroscale Japan has also been selected for Phase II of the CRD2 program, in which the servicer will remove and deorbit the upper stage.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Dementia Advocate Shares Tips For Supporting People With Dementia When Flying

SME Today talks to Sa’ed Anabtawi, Product Director, WOLF

What SMEs risk when their IT provider gets bought out

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Personal Pension offer
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    August 29, 2025

    OneMetric forms strategic partnership with RevOps expert to drive UK growth

    August 28, 2025

    The Seven Phases of Festive Shopping and How to Target within Each Effectively

    • Finance
    September 3, 2025

    Five ways to monetise your business EV chargers

    September 1, 2025

    Are you flying blind on your most important business decisions?

    • People
    August 14, 2025

    A Life Worth Saving – A Tribute to Dame Stephanie Shirley CH, 1933–2025

    August 12, 2025

    Finance Director Returns As Judge For National Business Awards

    • Health & Safety
    September 2, 2025

    1 in 3 employees anxious about lack of first aiders at work

    July 1, 2025

    Temperatures Soaring: Is Your Workplace Becoming Unsafe?

    • Events
    July 22, 2025

    South West Expo Delivers Outstanding Event at Swindon’s STEAM Museum

    July 4, 2025

    £20k grant for female-founded SME up for grabs

    • Community
    July 11, 2025

    Building community, one cause at a time

    June 23, 2025

    Celebrating One Year In Fairford Supporting The Community

    • Food & Drink
    August 22, 2025

    How to get stocked by major retailers as an SME

    July 18, 2025

    Warning to Small Businesses Over New Food Waste Regulations

    • Books
    September 3, 2025

    New book on conquering fear of public speaking

    August 7, 2025

    Learning to Leave a Legacy in Business

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • People
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Editorial Submission Guidelines
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.