{"city":"Tokyo","name":"Astroscale","slug":"astroscale","facts":[{"date":"2028-01-01","type":"deployment","value":"ELSA-M scheduled to launch during fiscal year 2028","source":"Payload"},{"date":"2028-01-01","type":"partnership","value":"Astroscale UK signed an agreement with Isar Aerospace to launch the ELSA-M in-orbit demonstration mission","source":"Payload"},{"date":"2027-05-01","type":"deployment","value":"ELSA-M launch scheduled for fiscal year 2028 beginning May 2027","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2027-05-01","type":"contract","value":"Signed a contract with Isar Aerospace to launch ELSA-M on the Spectrum rocket during fiscal year 2028","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2027-05-01","type":"deployment","value":"ELSA-M launch scheduled for fiscal year 2028, beginning May 2027","source":"SpaceNews"},{"date":"2027-05-01","type":"contract","value":"Astroscale signed a contract with Isar Aerospace to launch ELSA-M on a Spectrum rocket","source":"SpaceNews"}],"peers":[{"name":"Impulse Space","rank":35,"slug":"impulse-space","score":"77.5"},{"name":"D-Orbit","rank":50,"slug":"d-orbit","score":"74"},{"name":"Starfish Space","rank":58,"slug":"starfish-space","score":"71.5"},{"name":"Quantum Space","rank":89,"slug":"quantum-space","score":"65"}],"stage":"Public","state":"Tokyo","aliases":["ADRAS-J","Astroscale Holdings","Astroscale Ltd","Astroscale U.S.","アストロスケール"],"country":"Japan","domains":[{"why":"Astroscale develops and operates missions to inspect, capture, remove and deorbit orbital debris, including ADRAS-J2's planned removal of a large H-IIA rocket upper stage.","list":"Space 100","rank":7,"tier":"member","layer":"Satellites & spacecraft","total":86,"domain":"Space","scores":{"leverage":8,"position":10,"progress":10,"firepower":8,"commercial":6,"deployment":8,"production":6,"technology":10},"edition":"November 2026","segment":"Servicing & tugs"}],"founded":2013,"signals":[{"date":"2026-10-29","header":"Astroscale’s UK subsidiary won a £15 million UK Ministry of Defence contract for Project LEDA.","outlet":"European Spaceflight"},{"date":"2026-10-28","header":"Astroscale became prime contractor for the UK Ministry of Defence’s LEDA orbital-defense program.","outlet":"Via Satellite"},{"date":"2026-10-27","header":"Astroscale proposed a fleet of “bodyguard” spacecraft to protect satellites from orbital attacks.","outlet":"Space"},{"date":"2026-10-06","header":"Japan’s MEXT allocated additional SBIR Phase 3 funding to Astroscale, Pale Blue, and BULL for space-debris mitigation.","outlet":"SPACE CONNECT"},{"date":"2026-10-06","header":"Japan’s MEXT allocated additional SBIR funding to Astroscale and BULL for space-debris mitigation.","outlet":"SPACE CONNECT"},{"date":"2026-09-30","header":"Astroscale UK won an approximately ¥3.1 billion defense contract from the UK Ministry of Defence.","outlet":"SPACE CONNECT"}],"website":"https://astroscale.com","category":"Space · Infrastructure","categories":[{"name":"Debris management","domain":"Space","parent":"Space · Infrastructure"}],"last_round":null,"updated_at":"2026-10-30T10:01:07.885+00:00","facts_total":129,"positioning":"Astroscale is a Japanese on-orbit-servicing leader (TSE:186A) whose ADRAS-J completed the world-first commercial mission to approach and image large debris at close range, with ELSA-M and ADRAS-J2 (capture and removal) following, on FY26 project income of JPY 11.5B ($71.1M, +89%) and a narrowing operating loss. It is converting to defense demand: a second Japanese MoD gripping-mechanism contract (JPY 999M, January 2026), a JAXA GEO-refueling selection, a UK military tracking-cubesat milestone, and a US Space Force refueling demo in the pipeline. Analysts see profitability around 2029.","sub_category":"Debris management","signals_total":36,"url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/astroscale","title":"Astroscale · space, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · scores, facts and signals · Frontier Tech Intelligence","description":"Astroscale develops and operates missions to inspect, capture, remove and deorbit orbital debris, including ADRAS-J2's planned removal of a large H-IIA rocket upper stage. Space 100 rank 7 (score 86) 36 signals and 129 facts with sources.","publisher":"Frontier Tech Intelligence (Future Frontiers, a trade name of Essential Cognition Inc.)","note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}