Satellite services and long-term orbital sustainability specialist Astroscale has opened a new Zeus satellite manufacturing and operations facility at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
The new facility will enable the company to manufacture Satellite Debris Servicer satellites, a future commercial product that will rapidly develop and contribute to the growth of the UK space industry. The sector has quadrupled in size since 2000.
Compared to Astroscale’s previous location, Zeus will have a 900% increase in space, reaching 20,000 square feet and housing a high-spec satellite manufacturing facility, a satellite operations center, and office space for 120 staff.
Located on the Harwell Campus, we have close relationships with the British Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Satellite Applications Catapult, the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and many other partners.
Nobu Okada, Founder and CEO of Astroscale, said:
“This facility will support our UK operations’ ambitious growth plans and will enable us to work with our partners to drive the development of the UK commercial on-orbit services market. Acting now will benefit future generations. We will ensure a sustainable space economy in the future.”
The UK continues to be a leader in both policy and technology development on space debris removal and sustainability.
Recent announcements include the UK National Space Strategy 2021, the UK Space Agency’s Corporate Plan 2022-25 and most recently the Space Sustainability Plan (23 June 2022), which is the UK’s It underscores the UK government’s commitment to building on early entrant advantage. Combine space robotics with on-orbit services and manufacturing (IOSM) to establish global leadership in space sustainability.
Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the British Space Agency, said:
“The UK is leading the effort to make space more sustainable, supporting companies such as Astroscale to design innovative new missions to remove dangerous space debris. It’s great to see this state-of-the-art facility open, bring new capabilities to the UK and create over 100 jobs in the Harwell Space cluster.”
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Astroscale celebrated the completion of End-of-Life Services with the Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission earlier this year. ELSA-d was the world’s first commercial debris removal demonstration mission, proving the magnetic capture technology required for end-to-end low-orbit satellite services.
On the heels of this success, ESA and the British Space Agency have approved the OneWeb Sunrise Partnership Program for the continued development of the next astroscale service model, ELSA-M, capable of servicing multiple satellites on a single mission. .
Scheduled for launch in 2024, ELSA-M will be manufactured and operated in Harwell’s Zeus Building to expedite commercial debris removal services for satellite constellation customers committed to developing a responsible and sustainable space economy. create a platform for development.
Nick Shave, Managing Director of Astroscale Limited said: Pushing the boundaries of innovation and space technology.
“Together, we can create an orbital economy and new high-value jobs that ensure space is safe and sustainable for future generations.
“This is a transformative moment for the rapidly growing space business to open its own facility in the UK to design and manufacture astroscale debris removal and satellite services satellites.
“We will also leverage our long-standing partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult for space mission operations for future orbital service missions, including the ELSA-M multi-client removal service, and will evaluate utilization of the STFC National Space Test Facility,” said Harwell.
“This is also a landmark moment for Astroscale, which will create new homes for its 120 staff members, many of which were recently announced to remove two defunct satellites from low-Earth orbit. , will immediately begin working on the recently announced British Space Agency active debris removal mission.”
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