When Nobu Okada founded his space debris removal startup Astroscale in 2013, there was little concern outside of a small circle of experts about the vast amount of material orbiting the Earth.
Almost a decade later, the garbage accumulated from decades of space exploration and the ensuing environmental crisis are not only widely discussed issues, but a rising source of geopolitical tensions between the world’s top superpowers with space ambitions.
For Astroscale, and more generally for Japan, debris clearance offers a tremendous market opportunity to take the lead – both in developing the technology required and in enacting regulations to govern the responsible use of space.
Space around Earth is littered with about 9,000 tons of debris, including abandoned satellites and other remnants of disintegrating spacecraft, according to Nasa.
Since 2019, the number of functioning satellites in orbit has also increased by 50 percent, raising concerns that the growing amount of space debris could lead to potentially catastrophic collisions with these satellites – which also become space debris at the end of their lives.
Astroscale founder Nobu Okada: “Space has no borders and therefore no rules for the countries operating in it” © Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO
While collisions are still rare, Okada warns that the number of near misses is increasing with the proliferation of satellites vital to society. These satellites provide real-time information about automobile traffic, weather and financial markets, and are also vital for communications, earth observation and climate change monitoring.
In 2020, spacecraft came within 1 km of an object about 2,000 times a month. According to Okada, that number has tripled in the past year.
“Only in space is there a throwaway culture,” he says. “Space junk is a nuisance because space – unlike air, land and sea – has no borders and therefore no rules to govern countries [operating in it].”
With nations unwilling to shoulder the growing cost of space debris cleanup, Okada recognized early on that there was room for the private sector to take on the cleanup mission through the use of new technologies, while developing regulations for responsible use of space to contribute.
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According to Northern Sky Research, the market for in-orbit services, such as Astroscale debris removal, is expected to generate $14.3 billion in revenue by 2031. Beyond cleaning, the goal of these services is to prevent the creation of new debris, help satellites avoid collisions, and extend their lifespan through inspection and maintenance.
The Okada startup is uniquely positioned among a group of space startups that have emerged. In addition to its headquarters in Japan, the company has subsidiaries in the UK, USA, Israel and Singapore. It has raised $300 million in funding from a mix of Japanese and international investors including Innovation Network Corporation of Japan – a government-backed fund – Nintendo’s Family Office and Seraphim Space Investment Trust, the UK-listed SpaceTech fund.
“If this were a regular business, you would want to establish your presence in one country and expand your market from there,” says Okada. “For this mission, our belief was that we needed to build our market presence globally while creating rules.”
Prince Charles visits an Astroscale subsidiary in Didcot, UK © Getty
Currently, there are no internationally agreed, legally binding rules for space – the industry is broadly following best practice guidelines to mitigate debris generation. However, as a member of many industry advisory bodies, Okada is closely involved in the discussions surrounding the development of new regulations.
Astroscale’s debris removal services aren’t operational yet, but it’s working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) to launch an inspection satellite on the upper stage of a Japanese rocket body next year. This will provide images and other data for analysis of the debris environment.
The company is also developing a vehicle capable of inspecting, docking and deorbiting satellites when they reach the end of their useful lives. The dead satellite and the vehicle itself burn up as soon as they re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency are funding their first mission, planned for 2024.
To create globally enforceable rules for more responsible use of space, cleaning technology must be ready, says Okada. “If there’s no solution, people don’t know how to regulate.”
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Toru Yamamoto, a senior researcher at Jaxa, says until the technology is developed the debate over whose responsibility it is to clean up debris cannot move forward. “Right now, technology is the bottleneck,” says Yamamoto. “Japan’s technology in debris clearance is at a very high level, we say [first] need to demonstrate best practices.”
For Japan, which is also responsible for some of the debris, its involvement is driven by fears that it will be forced to foot the bill for debris removal without a say in setting the rules. “If we don’t do these kinds of activities, we don’t have a voice as a nation and we might just pay the fees,” Yamamoto adds.
Astroscale’s goal for now is to routinely provide debris removal services by 2030 — when the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to achieve goals like climate change, education and poverty are to be implemented.
“If we want to ensure the sustainable development of the earth, we must guarantee the sustainable use of space,” says Okada.
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