Astroscale France Announced at Paris Air Show

During the Paris Air Show, Astroscale Holdings Inc. announced the opening of Astroscale France SAS (“Astroscale France”) and a contract with the French national space agency, Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (“CNES”).

“This partnership with Astroscale aligns with our goals of ensuring long-term space sustainability and bolstering France’s leadership in the space sector.”

Philippe Baptiste, CNES.

“Astroscale’s expansion into France and partnership with CNES mark a major step toward realizing a safe and sustainable space environment, and serve as a testament to France’s investment in space sustainability,” said Nobu Okada, Astroscale Founder and CEO. “Combining Astroscale’s on-orbit servicing leadership with CNES’s esteemed space heritage strengthens France’s role as a global leader in sustainable space policy and innovative technology.”

Astroscale France Will Focus on Space Debris

The contract, which was signed June 20 at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, formalizes a partnership between Astroscale France and CNES that includes a funded study for active debris removal of French space debris. The specific debris will be determined in early 2024.

“This partnership with Astroscale aligns with our goals of ensuring long-term space sustainability and bolstering France’s leadership in the space sector,” said Philippe Baptiste, president of CNES. “We are pleased to fund this study, and together we will drive innovation, foster international cooperation and actively contribute to the preservation of our space environment.”

Astroscale France is incorporated in Paris and will establish a location for larger facilities soon, along with naming a Managing Director and announcing other key employees.

In a related story, Astroscale is ready to de-orbit its ELSA-d servicer satellite, which has demonstrated key technologies for space debris removal over the past two years.

To accomplish this, the Astroscale Operations Team will perform a set of small burns at regular intervals. Each maneuver provides valuable insights, allowing the optimal burn-and-wait periods for de-orbiting, particularly with limited thruster availability, to be determined. The de-orbit process is expected to take several months, and the objective is to complete operations this year. This will involve using the servicer’s remaining propellant to reduce orbit height into denser atmosphere, from where the servicer’s planned re-entry and burn-up should rapidly occur. The client satellite, which does not have the ability to maneuver, will naturally de-orbit over the next several years.

(Source: Astroscale news release. Images provided and from file)