Singapore-based startup Astroscale has secured up to US$35m to fund an in-orbit demonstration of its space debris removal system ADRAS 1. The majority of the new investment comes from venture capital public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), which has committed US$30m.
Singapore-based startup Astroscale has secured up to US$35m to fund an in-orbit demonstration of its space debris removal system ADRAS 1.
The majority of the new investment comes from venture capital public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), which has committed US$30m.
Existing investor JAFCO, a Japanese VC fund, led the other US$5m injection alongside other third party investor.
JAFCO also led Astroscale’s series A at the end of January 2015 when the company secured an initial US$7.7m, which the startup’s founder Nobu Okada described at the time as the first successful funding round for a commercial space venture in Asia.
Astroscale’s new equity will be invested in developing and testing propulsion systems, an adhesive-based docking system to pluck redundant spacecraft from their orbit, and other technologies for space debris removal.
The company envisages carrying out an in-orbit demonstration of ADRAS-1 removing space debris in H1 2018. Astroscale’s business plan looks to capitalise on the burgeoning smallsat industry with a number of companies looking to build out constellations featuring hundreds of spacecraft.
With space debris expected to grow significantly in the coming years, Astroscale believes its solution will make space more sustainable. Citing data from ESA estimating that there are 23,000 pieces of trackable space debris orbiting Earth, the company sees an opportunity for itself.
In addition to its debris removal system, Astroscale is also developing another project called IDEA OSG1, which it hopes will be able to track space debris that is too small to be tracked from Earth at present.
While headquartered in Singapore, Astroscale has an office and manufacturing facility in Tokyo and its leading backers are Japanese.
In addition to INCJ and JAFCO, the venture has backing from serial entrepreneur Taizo Son through his Mistletoe vehicle, and other investors Kotaro Yamagishi, Kenji Kasahara, Shuhei Morofuji, Mari Murata, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Mamoru Taniya, Osamu Kaneda and Takao Ozawa.
Astroscale is not the only Japanese-backed newspace venture winning investment. Tokyo-based Earth observation operator Axelspace secured US$15.8m in its series A in Q4 2015. It may next look at a series B or move straight to an IPO as its looks to eventually secure ¥20bn (US$176m) to fund its planned 50-microsat constellation, which it hopes to be functioning by the end of 2022.