The Japanese firm Astroscale has transported its ELSA-d spacecraft to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, preparing for integration with a Soyuz rocket. The launch is currently planned for March of the coming year. This undertaking represents a significant milestone for Astroscale, as it marks the initial in-space validation of the company’s technologies designed for removing space debris – a fundamental aspect of its planned space sustainability services.

Astroscale’s ELSA-d mission is a small satellite project focused on showcasing two essential technologies that support the company’s objective of orbital debris mitigation. The first is a targeting system, designed to pinpoint and connect with pieces of space junk, utilizing positioning systems such as GPS and laser-based location methods. This system, implemented by a “servicer” satellite, will locate and connect to a simultaneously launched “target” satellite, simulating an actual piece of debris.

Throughout the mission, Astroscale plans to repeatedly connect with and release the “target” satellite using its “servicer,” demonstrating its capability to identify and secure uncontrolled objects in orbit, and subsequently guide them for a controlled descent out of orbit. This will effectively validate the technology that forms the basis of its business strategy, paving the way for future commercial ventures.

Astroscale revealed in October that it had secured $51 million in funding, bringing its total funding to $191 million. Furthermore, the company broadened its capabilities in June by acquiring the personnel and intellectual property of Effective Space Solutions, which will be leveraged to develop the geostationary servicing component of its business, complementing the low Earth orbit operations that ELSA-d will demonstrate.