Astroscale
Nobu Okada
Data verified as of Jul 29, 2026
Summary
Astroscale is the only company in the world building a business purely around servicing what is already in orbit: removing debris, deorbiting dead satellites, extending the life of working ones, refueling them, and inspecting them. Founded in Tokyo in 2013 by Nobu Okada and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market since June 2024 under ticker 186A, it operates across Japan, the UK, the US, France, and Israel. Its ADRAS-J spacecraft made history in 2024 as the first vehicle ever to approach and photograph a large piece of orbital debris up close, a discarded Japanese rocket upper stage, and it completed operations and began its own deorbit in March 2026. JAXA has since contracted the follow-on ADRAS-J2 for roughly 12 billion yen to go back to that same rocket body and actually remove it with a robotic arm. Alongside that flagship line Astroscale is preparing ELSA-M, billed as the world's first commercial end-of-life deorbit service and now booked on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket; LEXI, a geostationary life-extension servicer; the Astroscale U.S. Refueler, which is set to perform the first refueling of a United States Space Force asset; and ISSA-J1, a 2027 mission that will inspect two retired Japanese satellites in different orbits on a single flight. The company remains deeply loss-making: for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026 it reported 5.94 billion yen of IFRS revenue against a 9.98 billion yen operating loss, with an order backlog of 37.94 billion yen.
Main Products
Debris removal servicer built for Phase II of JAXA's Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program. It returns to the same spent H-IIA upper stage that ADRAS-J surveyed, captures it with a robotic arm, and deorbits it.
Contracted by JAXA for roughly 12 billion yen after ADRAS-J proved the approach was possible. ADRAS-J itself completed operations and began deorbiting in March 2026; ADRAS-J2 is the mission that attempts the actual capture and removal.
Commercial end-of-life servicer that docks with a prepared client satellite using a magnetic docking plate and drags it down to a disposal orbit. Designed to service multiple satellites on a single mission.
Billed as the world's first commercial end-of-life service for prepared satellites. Astroscale selected Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket in March 2026 to launch the in-orbit demonstration, and the UK subsidiary finalized the contract for the mission's final phase, adding more than 2.3 billion yen to backlog.
Life Extension In-Orbit servicer for geostationary satellites. It docks with an aging spacecraft and takes over stationkeeping and attitude control, adding years of revenue-generating life to a satellite that would otherwise be retired.
The LEXI-P pathfinder is in development ahead of the commercial servicer. Astroscale disclosed on its FY2026 Q3 earnings call that the first commercial LEXI contract has slipped to 2027.
Roughly 300 kg refueling spacecraft that transfers hydrazine to satellites in geostationary orbit, and refuels itself from an Orbit Fab propellant depot so it can service more than one client per mission.
Contracted to perform the first-ever refueling of a United States Space Force asset. The vehicle is one of two spacecraft in the Space Force's Tetra-5 refueling demonstration: after a 45-day on-orbit checkout it will dock with a Space Force spacecraft, transfer propellant, run a hyperspectral leak check, refuel at an Orbit Fab depot, and then service a second spacecraft over a six-month window.
What's Next
Perform the first refueling of a U.S. Space Force satellite
Launch the Astroscale U.S. Refueler as part of the Space Force's Tetra-5 demonstration, then run the sequence that has never been done operationally: dock with a Space Force spacecraft in geostationary orbit, transfer hydrazine, verify with a hyperspectral leak check, refuel from an Orbit Fab depot, and repeat on a second client. A 45-day checkout precedes a six-month window of refueling events.
Fly ISSA-J1 and inspect two satellites in different orbits
Launch the multi-orbit inspection mission that will approach and survey two retired Japanese satellites, ALOS and ADEOS-II, on a single flight using thrusters, electro-optical cameras, and proximity navigation. A commercial company has never inspected clients in two different orbits on one mission.
Build and launch ADRAS-J2 to actually remove the rocket body
Complete the Phase II servicer for JAXA's debris removal program and return to the spent H-IIA upper stage that ADRAS-J surveyed, this time capturing it with a robotic arm and deorbiting it. It would be the first commercial removal of a large piece of debris from orbit.
Reach the FY2027 revenue guidance and rebuild backlog
Deliver IFRS revenue of 7.0 to 9.0 billion yen and project revenue of 12.5 to 17.0 billion yen for the fiscal year ending April 2027, while reversing the 14.6 percent backlog decline recorded at end-April 2026 and signing the first commercial LEXI life-extension contract, which has already slipped to 2027.
Operations & Revenue
Astroscale has flown two servicing missions and has five more in development across four countries: ADRAS-J2 for JAXA, ELSA-M booked on Isar Aerospace, COSMIC for the UK national active debris removal program, the Astroscale U.S. Refueler for the Space Force, and ISSA-J1 for 2027. Revenue is growing fast off a small base but the company remains heavily loss-making, and its order backlog fell 14.6 percent in the year to April 2026. A commercial LEXI contract slipped to 2027.
Revenue Streams
Government Debris Removal Programs
Multi-year contracts from national space agencies to demonstrate and then perform active debris removal, led by JAXA's Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program (ADRAS-J and the roughly ¥12B ADRAS-J2) and the UK Space Agency's national mission, COSMIC.
Commercial End-of-Life Services
Deorbit-as-a-service for satellite operators whose spacecraft carry an Astroscale docking plate, sold ahead of launch as a disposal guarantee. ELSA-M is the in-orbit demonstration of the commercial product.
GEO life-extension servicing through the LEXI servicer and in-space refueling through the Astroscale U.S. Refueler, which is contracted to transfer hydrazine to United States Space Force spacecraft and to refuel itself at an Orbit Fab depot.
Key Metrics
Timeline
In January 2026 Astroscale UK wins a EUR 399,000 eight-month Phase A contract from the European Space Agency to design IRUS, an In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service that would replace degraded or outdated subsystems such as batteries, solar panels, and onboard computers on satellites already in orbit. BAE Systems joins as a prospective servicing client, and the study sits inside ESA's Space Safety Programme and its goal of becoming debris neutral by 2040.
On March 25, 2026 Astroscale announces that ADRAS-J has finished its mission and started deorbiting itself. Days later the mission receives Japan's Minister of Defense Award, recognition of how much the rendezvous data matters to national space-domain awareness.
On April 6, 2026 Astroscale unveils the client satellites and concept of operations for ISSA-J1, which will inspect two retired Japanese satellites, the ALOS Earth-observation spacecraft retired in 2011 and ADEOS-II which failed in 2003, in different orbits during a single 2027 mission. It is developed under Japan's MEXT SBIR Phase 3 fund for large-scale technology demonstrations.
On June 12, 2026 Astroscale reports results for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026: project income of 11.5 billion yen and IFRS revenue of 5.94 billion yen, an operating loss of 9.98 billion yen, a net loss of 6.70 billion yen, and an order backlog of 37.94 billion yen, down 14.6 percent year over year. Guidance for the year to April 2027 calls for 7.0 to 9.0 billion yen of IFRS revenue and a continued operating loss.
Under Phase I of JAXA's Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration program, ADRAS-J rendezvouses with a spent H-IIA upper stage that has been tumbling in orbit since 2009 and photographs it from close range, the first time any spacecraft has safely approached and surveyed an uncontrolled piece of large debris.
Funding
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