Ibadan, 27 December 2024. – ClearSpace, Astroscale and D-Orbit have jointly secured GBP 691,000 from the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) for a Regulatory Sandbox project to test innovative Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) missions.
The mission intends to help the regulators understand the emerging technologies and their implications and ultimately inform and enable regulation for such novel space activities, which could boost UK economic growth.
In-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) categories of RPO missions represent a high-value market with a £14 billion revenue opportunity globally over the next decade, as in the latest Northern Sky Research report. According to the UKspace In-Orbit Servicing & Manufacturing Priorities paper, the UK is in an optimal position to capture about 25% share of the market.
As a result, the DSIT is funding the Regulatory Sandbox for RPO that will underpin all future ISAM missions, towards maintaining the UK’s global leadership in ISAM activities. As RPO operators, D-Orbit, ClearSpace and Astroscale have consequently formed a consortium to work together to explore these key challenges throughout the RPO Sandbox exercise. Together with independent regulators, including the Civil Aviation Authority, the industrial consortium will identify the key bottlenecks and areas of uncertainties around the licensing of novel space activities involving RPO.
Commenting on this, Nick Shave, Managing Director of Astroscale UK, remarked, “RPO is at the heart of Astroscale’s missions to create a safe, sustainable, and secure space environment. We’re on the crest of seeing ISAM become a necessary routine activity in space. A key factor to ensure we get there is a clear path to licensing ISAM missions. This welcome funding from the UK government will enable industry to engage with regulators to address current licensing challenges.”
