astroscale
Astroscale takes the wraps off its $25M orbital refueling craft for Space Force
Orbital operations company Astroscale has revealed new details about its approach to refueling satellites in space, as part of a $25.5 million project exploring the concept with the Space Force.…
Astroscale closes new funding to grow in-orbit servicing and orbital debris cleanup tech
Astroscale, a company that’s developing technology to service satellites and clean up orbital debris, has closed another round of funding and widened its investor pool to include a space enthusiast…
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. There is SO much news this week, so let’s dive in. In this issue: Astroforge’s asteroid mining ambitions, Boeing’s Starliner comes home, and…
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. It was a big week for private spaceflight. As usual, send feedback, comments and tips to aria.techcrunch@gmail.com. You also can catch me on…
Without sustainable practices, orbital debris will hinder space’s gold rush
Today’s sustainability crisis in space is the result of 60 years of exploration and utilization that have largely ignored the environmental consequences of space activities.
Orbit Fab’s on-orbit fuel shuttle will top up Astroscale’s servicing satellites
In a new partnership that should break new ground for sustainable orbital operations, “gas stations in space” startup Orbit Fab has teamed with Astroscale to provide on-orbit refueling services to…
Astroscale raises $109M for its on-orbit services technology
Japanese space startup Astroscale has raised $109 million in a new Series F round of financing, bringing the company’s total funding raised to date to $300 million. The company specializes…
Astroscale successfully demos in-space capture-and-release system to clear orbital debris
Astroscale hit a major milestone Wednesday, when its space junk removal demo satellite that’s currently in orbit successfully captured and released a client spacecraft using a magnetic system. The End-of-Life…
Astroscale launches its ELSA-d orbital debris removal satellite
Space startup Astroscale has launched ELSA-d, the demonstration mission for its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale (ELSA) technology, which aims to dock with, and then safely remove, orbital debris. Astroscale’s demonstrator…
Astroscale ships its space junk removal demonstration satellite for March 2021 mission
Japanese startup Astroscale has shipped its ELSA-d spacecraft to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan, where it will be integrated with a Soyuz rocket for a launch scheduled for March of…
Orbital refueling and manufacturing go from theory to reality in 2021
The idea of satellites and other spacecraft being able to refuel, repair or even add new capabilities while in orbit has generally seemed like a “nice in theory” one, but…
TC Sessions: Space is happening this December 16 and 17 — our first-ever dedicated space event. This is a live, virtual two-day conference featuring the most important people in the…
Astroscale sets March 2021 for first commercial orbital debris removal demonstration
Japanese startup Astroscale is aiming for March 2021 for a launch of its first-ever active orbital debris removal mission. This is a demonstration of its technology that it hopes to…
Pioneers of in-space refueling and manufacturing join TC Sessions: Space 2020
One of the problems with putting a satellite in orbit is that once you do, it’s pretty much out of your hands. If anything goes wrong, or it runs out…
TC Sessions: Space is happening this December 16 and 17 — our first-ever dedicated space event. This is a live, virtual two-day conference featuring the most important people in the…
Astroscale raises $51 million in Series E funding to fuel its orbital sustainability ambitions
On-orbit service and logistics startup Astroscale has raised a $51 million Series E funding round, bringing its total raised to date to $191 million thus far. The Japan-based company has…
New UK-US agreement allows US companies to launch from UK spaceports
In a new move designed to encourage more economic and scientific collaboration between spacefaring nations, the U.K. and U.S. governments have signed a new agreement that would make it possible…
Astroscale expands into geostationary satellite life extension with new acquisition
Orbital spacecraft sustainability startup Astroscale has acquired the IP, most assets and staff of an Israeli company called Effective Space Solutions in order to broaden its service offering to include…
This week turned out to be a surprisingly busy one in space news – kicked off by the Trump administration’s FY 2021 budget proposal, which was generous to U.S. space…
Orbital debris startup Astroscale chosen by JAXA for its first space junk removal mission
Japanese orbital debris removal technology startup Astroscale is going to be working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the agency’s first mission to remove some of the junk…
