27 May 2022, London, United Kingdom – OneWeb, in collaboration with Astroscale Ltd.*, will seek to protect the satellite economy with ground-breaking new spacecraft technology, thanks in part to a new investment of €14.8 million. Astroscale’s mission to demonstrate his ELSA-M servicer will begin towards the end of 2024, after which there are ambitious plans to provide debris removal services to satellite operators.
This announcement builds on Sunrise, a partnership program launched in 2019 between the European Space Agency (ESA) and OneWeb to support next-generation technology advances. This ranges from artificial intelligence to operate satellites, to supporting research into new payloads, user terminal technologies, and active debris removal.
This latest funding agreement supports Astroscale Ltd. and its UK partners. This will enable the complete design of the ELSA-M servicer, from conception and design to the manufacturing and satellite pre-integration stages. Once completed, the servicer will be able to acquire and remove multiple satellites in a single mission once it reaches the end of its operational lifecycle in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Satellites provide us with essential services such as weather forecasts, disaster management, GPS, banking system data, and broadband. As the orbital environment becomes overcrowded, we risk losing connectivity both at work and at home. As such, we are pursuing a number of partnerships to identify solutions for responsibly managing space debris.
Massimiliano Ladovaz, Chief Technology Officer, OneWeb, said: The development of the ELSA-M servicer prototype is another important milestone towards a responsible approach to space, allowing satellites to be removed from orbit and allowing the low earth orbit environment to be preserved as a natural shared resource. We guarantee that ”
Astroscale Ltd. Managing Director John Auburn said:“Unless we start cleaning up space, we are jeopardizing communications services. Astroscale’s ELSA-M servicer is designed based on the ELSA-d demonstration mission to clean up orbital debris. The spacecraft will demonstrate our innovative rendezvous, capture and deorbit capabilities using a full-size constellation client.
“We plan to launch commercial services for satellite operators such as OneWeb shortly after the on-orbit demonstration, with a vision to make debris removal part of our daily routine by 2030. We are extremely grateful to the British Space Agency for their continued support in developing this innovative technology that will lead to our commercial services contributing to the sustainable economy of space.”
Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, ESA, said: I commend ESA’s track record in fostering innovation in the European space industry and realizing new ways to ensure the sustainable use of space, and ESA’s partnership projects as a trusted partner for investors, operators and industry. I am proud of my role. ”
Minister of Science George Freeman “With thousands of satellites already in orbit, and thousands more launched each year, we have new technology to address the problem of space debris and remove defunct spacecraft and other types of space junk. Finding ways to reduce costs is becoming increasingly important for satellite operators to prevent debris damage and ensure space is safe and sustainable.
As such, the UK government has made space sustainability a key theme of its National Space Strategy. It’s great to see British companies Astroscale and OneWeb playing a leading role in this European Space Agency project. range. “
British Space Agency Secretary Paul Bate“Space debris threatens the satellites we rely on every day for critical services such as navigation, banking and communications.
“That is why the UK is taking action by funding new commercial technologies to remove debris from space and working with international partners to lead efforts to promote sustainability. This latest phase of the Sunrise program partnership between the European Space Agency, Astroscale Ltd. and OneWeb Develops an innovative spacecraft servicer to remove multiple defunct satellites, at the forefront of efforts to clear up the UK’s space I’ll put it in.”
