To secure long-term spaceflight safety and orbital sustainability for the benefit of future generations The impact of space debris
Our growing reliance on satellite services 1 active satellite 1957 1,950 active satellites 2019 20,000+ active satellites by 2030 67,000 collision alerts per year
very day billions of people around the world rely One of the key ways to reduce the risk of collision in on data from satellites to go about their lives. We orbit is to remove potential threats. Designing and Eexchange messages, talk to family and friends, building a satellite to identify, track, rendezvous, dock check the weather, manage finances, and undertake and de-orbit a piece of debris is an extraordinarily numerous other tasks. In addition, satellites are used difficult technical task on its own. However, developing to manage and mitigate natural disasters, monitor the an orbital debris removal business involves more than Earth’s climate and well-being and provide information just creating the technical solution. We now need a for national security. In short, without satellite data, the consistent global effort to shape regulations and a lives of people around the world would be dramatically vibrant ecosystem that assures a business case. At different. And now the source of this data is at growing Astroscale we are working these important tasks risk of being destroyed by space debris. – developing the technologies, working with the policymakers and closing the business case – that will We don’t see these satellites and the millions of pieces allow for a long-term orbital debris solution. of debris in orbit, so it feels as if that environment is disconnected from daily life. However, just as we need to care for our rivers, lakes and oceans, we need to care for the critical natural resource of low Earth orbit (LEO). Humankind is now approaching an era in which 10 billion people will be sharing this planet. The benefits we derive from satellites will help to shape this next generation and we must assure that our orbits are sustainable in order to have an Earth that is sustainable as well.
The solution Astroscale is developing two product families:
End-of-Life Services by Astroscale (ELSA) Prepare future satellites with a docking mechanism before launch that will allow 1 for eventual removal from orbit by a servicing mission. Assuring all satellites have a means of deorbit will improve long-term orbital sustainability and ensure safety of future satellite operations.
Active Debris Removal (ADR) Removing debris that is currently in orbit requires a “non-cooperative” solution as 2 this debris was not prepared for deorbit before launch. Astroscale is partnering with national space agencies and international organisations to research and develop missions that incorporate innovative solutions for docking and removal of environmentally critical debris such as used rocket upper stages and defunct satellites. The primary customers for this service will be space agencies.
2 For the sustainability of space The impact of space debris
1 active satellite 1957 1,950 active satellites 2019 20,000+ active satellites by 2030 67,000 collision alerts per year
The technology Our technology demonstration mission, ELSA-d is scheduled to be launched in 2020 and will prove our capabilities in providing an end-to-end solution for space debris removal, including:
Find and Approach Satellite Proximity Operations 1 Optimised approach for locating 2 Relative navigation to rendezvous and making in-situ observations with object using optical sensors and of object orbit and characteristics distributed data processing
Docking Deorbit 3 Magnetic docking with client 4 Use of advanced Collision satellite using ferromagnetic plate Avoidance Manoeuvres, to pacify and deorbit debris
Ground segment operations for in-orbit servicing In 2018, Astroscale UK was part of £4 million grant from the UK Government to lead the establishment of a National In-Orbit Servicing Control Facility at the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The facility will support advanced robotics activities in the hostile environment of space, specifically enabling the provision of a commercial service for deorbiting small satellites. The new facility will initially control Astroscale’s pioneering ELSA-d mission, the first project to demonstrate the core rendezvous, docking and deorbit technologies used by the ELSA program.
www.astroscale.com 3 About Astroscale Astroscale has a growing team of nearly 100 people – 80% of whom are engineers. All share a passion to secure long-term spaceflight safety and bring an international mindset to address this growing global problem.
Astroscale is headquartered in Japan, and has offices in the UK, the US and Singapore. Our highly experienced and professional team have joined us from different backgrounds, including space agencies, government ministries, start-ups and the aerospace industry from around the globe. Astroscale is uniquely positioned to lead the international market in solving the technical, policy and business case concerns related to the increasing hazard of space debris.
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