Ibadan, 13 February 2025. – Astroscale Ltd. (“Astroscale UK”), the UK subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), has completed the Mid-Term Review of the current development phase for the UK Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission with the UK Space Agency (UKSA).
Through COSMIC, Astroscale’s flagship UK ADR solution, the company is developing the technology to safely remove two inactive UK-registered satellites from orbit, marking a critical step toward securing a safe and sustainable future in space as a result. The current phase of the mission aims to mature and de-risk key technologies for the mission. Furthermore, the midpoint milestone represents Astroscale UK’s progress with partners in key areas like debris de-tumbling capabilities and robotic capture systems.
When debris objects are tumbling in space, COSMIC will rely on plume impingement, a novel method utilizing thrusters on the COSMIC servicer, to reduce the tumbling rate to ensure safe and secure capture. To validate this approach, Astroscale UK will undertake a test campaign at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen, using a specialist vacuum chamber to replicate real-space conditions and link simulation with real-world data.
“We are excited to be moving towards the final part of the development phase for the UK ADR mission,” said Nick Shave, Managing Director for Astroscale UK. “Through our previous missions, Astroscale is the first company to demonstrate safe and precise capture of an object in space as well as the unprecedented close approach to a large debris object in orbit.
“We are harnessing the experience and knowledge from those missions and working closely with our UK-focused supply chain to develop a mature and robust solution for Britain’s ground-breaking ADR mission.”
