Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”) has closed a Series G round with more than $76 million in funding from new investors Mitsubishi Electric, Yusaku Maezawa, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mitsubishi Corporation, Development Bank of Japan, and FEL Corporation — with the closing of this round, Astroscale has raised a total of approximately $376 million since the firm’s establishment.
The global economy is more dependent on satellite services than at any time in history, and this dependence is only rising. The number of space debris objects in LEO is exponentially increasing, posing a threat to all who benefit every day from these services. These risks, and the wasted value and opportunity inherent in single-use space operations, have driven Astroscale to pioneer on-orbit services such as end-of-life removal of satellites, active debris removal, in-space situational awareness and satellite life extension.
Astroscale has a variety of missions and projects underway around the world:
- Astroscale Japan is under contract with JAXA for Phase I of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project (CRD2), which will characterize an upper stage rocket body in orbit. It was also selected as a contract partner for a technology study in Phase II of CRD2, which would involve removing a large-scale debris object from orbit.
- Astroscale UK is developing an active debris removal mission, Cleaning Outer Space Missions through Innovative Capture (COSMIC), in partnership with the UK Space Agency, and plans to demonstrate the ELSA-M servicer in 2024 in partnership with OneWeb, the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
- Astroscale U.S. and Astroscale Israel teams are building the technology and mission plan for Life Extension services. The Astroscale U.S. team is also working with several U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and U.S. Space Force (USSF) , on R&D for satellite servicing.
- A previous mission, End of Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d), successfully demonstrated a series of key technologies required for space debris removal in 2021 and 2022, a milestone for on-orbit servicing and an unprecedented achievement for a commercially funded mission in LEO.
To develop its services and meet increasing demand from customers, Astroscale is expanding its workforce and has opened new facilities in the UK, U.S., and Israel, with a global headquarters facility set to open in Tokyo later this year. Astroscale has been able to attract high quality talent from around the world, and its global team has grown by 63% to over 400 members since its last funding round in November 2021.
“We are pleased with the interest we received from our investors, which conveys a vote of confidence in Astroscale’s vision and potential,” said Nobu Okada, Founder and CEO of Astroscale. “On-orbit servicing is a necessary infrastructure for a sustainable and growing space economy, and the key to reducing risk and increasing returns for satellite operators. We are on a mission to make on-orbit servicing routine by 2030, and these funds will significantly contribute to further innovative technology development, global expansion and increased capacity to meet the growing demand.”
“Mitsubishi Electric is working to promote the use of space in the security sector, which strongly connects with Astroscale’s efforts to build a sustainable space economy for future generations,” said Masahiko Arai, General Manager of the Defense Systems Division of Mitsubishi Electric. “We are excited to invest in Astroscale and looking forward to cooperate and merge our collective expertise in supporting their business strategy and development of innovative technologies.”
PJT Partners acted as financial advisor to Astroscale on this transaction.
