Astroscale Accelerates Orbital Servicing Push With Multi-Orbit Inspection Mission, Franco-Japanese Partnership, and UK Defense Contract
Japan's Astroscale unveils ISSA-J1 to inspect two defunct satellites across different orbits, signs a deorbiting pact with France's Exotrail, and clears a UK military design review, marking a rapid expansion of commercial on-orbit servicing capabilities.
Overview
Astroscale, the Tokyo-headquartered on-orbit servicing company, has announced a cluster of milestones in quick succession that together signal the broadening reach of the commercial space debris and satellite servicing sector. Within the span of two weeks, the company unveiled the concept of operations for a world-first multi-orbit satellite inspection mission, signed a Franco-Japanese deorbiting partnership backed by heads of state, completed a critical design review for a UK military space-tracking mission, and continued preparations for a U.S. Space Force refueling flight later this year.
ISSA-J1: Inspecting Two Dead Satellites in a Single Mission
On April 6, Astroscale Japan revealed the target satellites and operational plan for its ISSA-J1 mission, scheduled to launch in 2027. The spacecraft will navigate between different orbital altitudes to approach and characterize two retired Japanese satellites: the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), decommissioned in 2011, and the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II), which failed shortly after its 2003 launch, according to Interesting Engineering.
Successfully maneuvering to two clients across separate orbital regimes within a single mission would mark a world first for a commercial company. The spacecraft will capture high-resolution imagery and sensor data to assess each satellite’s structural integrity and rotational motion, providing baseline information needed to plan future safe removal or recycling missions for large pieces of space debris, as reported by Interesting Engineering.
ISSA-J1 is being developed under Japan’s Small Business Innovation Research Program, specifically the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Phase 3 fund for large-scale technology demonstrations. The program is expected to continue through Phase III, with completion targeted for March 2028.
The announcement builds on the success of Astroscale’s ADRAS-J, the first commercial mission to approach space debris, which recently completed its operations, according to Interesting Engineering. Astroscale also plans to demonstrate orbital refueling capabilities with U.S. Space Force satellites in geostationary orbit. The follow-on ADRAS-J2 mission, planned for fiscal year 2027, will attempt to physically remove the same piece of debris that ADRAS-J inspected.
Franco-Japanese Deorbiting Partnership
On April 2, Astroscale France and French in-space mobility company Exotrail signed a contract to co-develop a satellite deorbiting mission aimed at safely removing satellites from low Earth orbit by 2030, according to SpaceNews. The signing took place during a visit to Astroscale’s Tokyo headquarters by French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, underscoring the strategic weight both governments place on space sustainability.
The contract encompasses in-space mobility systems, rendezvous and proximity operations, and end-of-life satellite technologies. The mission will combine Exotrail’s SpaceVan orbital transfer vehicle with Astroscale’s heritage capture system and close-proximity operations expertise, as reported by SpaceNews. Philippe Blatt, managing director of Astroscale France, said that collaboration across industry and nations is essential to build a viable and scalable on-orbit servicing sector.
UK Military Space Domain Awareness
Astroscale’s British subsidiary has completed the critical design review for Orpheus, a space domain awareness mission funded by a 5.15 million pound contract from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory via BAE Systems, according to SpaceNews. The mission, planned for launch in 2027, will deploy two CubeSats flying in close formation to collect in-situ and remote-sensing data on the space environment, with operations conducted from Harwell, Oxfordshire.
Orpheus involves international partners including the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and Defence Research and Development Canada, as reported by SpaceNews. The mission leverages Astroscale’s rendezvous and proximity operations expertise developed through the ELSA-d and ADRAS-J programs.
U.S. Space Force Refueling Mission
Separately, Astroscale’s U.S. division is preparing a hydrazine refueling mission for the U.S. Space Force, scheduled for launch in 2026, according to SpaceNews. The APS-R refueler spacecraft will transfer hydrazine to two Space Force satellites in geostationary orbit and refuel itself using a propellant depot developed by Orbit Fab, as reported by SpaceNews. If successful, the mission would demonstrate a capability that could significantly extend the operational life of expensive geostationary assets.
What We Don’t Know
Several questions remain open. Astroscale has not disclosed the ISSA-J1 mission’s total budget or the specific contract value of the Exotrail partnership. The company has also not detailed how the inspection data from ISSA-J1 would be shared or commercialized, nor whether additional governments beyond Japan may fund similar inspection campaigns. The technical challenge of transitioning between orbital regimes to visit multiple targets in a single mission has not been demonstrated commercially, and the actual performance of the approach and departure maneuvers remains to be proven.
It also remains unclear whether the broader on-orbit servicing market can sustain multiple simultaneous ventures. ClearSpace, another European competitor backed by ESA, is developing its own debris removal mission targeting the retired Proba-1 satellite. Whether demand from satellite operators and government agencies will grow fast enough to support this expanding field of competitors is an open question.
Analysis
Astroscale’s rapid-fire announcements reflect a deliberate strategy to position the company across the full spectrum of on-orbit servicing: inspection, debris removal, life extension through refueling, and space domain awareness. By operating subsidiaries in Japan, France, the UK, and the United States, the company has structured itself to tap into national space programs and defense budgets across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
The diplomatic backdrop to the Exotrail partnership is notable. Having two heads of state attend a signing ceremony for a space debris contract suggests that orbital sustainability is transitioning from a technical concern to a geopolitical priority. With the United States now requiring post-mission satellite disposal within five years and ESA mandating at least 90 percent disposal success probability, the regulatory environment is beginning to create genuine commercial demand for services that until recently existed only as demonstration projects.