ASTROSCALE ACHIEVES MAJOR MILESTONE AHEAD OF FIRST UK NATIONAL MISSION TO REMOVE SPACE DEBRIS

The System Requirements Review (SRR) is a critical milestone in the satellite development phase. Led by the UK Space Agency, the review focused on the evaluation of technical requirements including the concept of the mission, the initial design of the robotic arm, and detumbling methods. The SRR data pack was delivered in July 2023 and the co-location meeting with the UK Space Agency was held in early August. The achievement highlights the strong relationships Astroscale has with its UK-based partners, developing a robust in-orbit servicing supply chain and expanding capabilities and skills in the UK.

Astroscale UK is now further refining the COSMIC mission on multiple fronts including technical, business and regulatory to meet the next major milestone, which is the preliminary design review, planned in January 2024.

“Astroscale’s mission is to support the safe and sustainable development of space, so that our children and generations to come can continue to live in a world that can harness the full infinite potential of space without the worry of congested orbits,” said Nick Shave, Managing Director of Astroscale UK. “We are proud to have achieved this key milestone for the first national Active Debris Removal mission, working closely with our UK-focused industrial partners and supply chain, which will enable Astroscale to further develop the commercial in-orbit servicing economy supporting the UK Space Agency’s delivery priority to become a leader in space sustainability.”


Astroscale playfully demonstrates the significance of its latest milestone to its vision for a safe and sustainable space for the benefit of future generations.

The COSMIC debris removal spacecraft will be a technological evolution of Astroscale’s End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-Multi-client (ELSA-M) servicer – a commercial partnership together with the European and UK Space Agencies and OneWeb, the global satellite operator, under the Sunrise programme. Designed to provide an end-of-life service for private satellite operators to deorbit defunct satellites, the first ELSA-M servicer will be launched ahead of the UK’s Active Debris Removal mission in 2025.