• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • NEWS:
  • SatNews
  • SatMagazine
  • MilSatMagazine
  • SmallSat News
  • |     EVENTS:
  • SmallSat Symposium
  • Satellite Innovation
  • MilSat Symposium

SatNews

  • HOME
  • Magazines
  • Events
  • Perspectives
  • Industry Calendar
    • IN PERSON
    • VIRTUAL
  • Subscribe

Astroscale U.S. to Build Astroscale Israel Ltd.

June 3, 2020

Astroscale U.S. Inc., the U.S. unit of Astroscale Holdings Inc., the market leader in securing long-term orbital sustainability, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property and other assets and to hire certain members of the staff of Effective Space Solutions R&D Ltd. (“ESS”), an Israeli satellite life-extension and servicing company.

These moves make Astroscale the only company solely dedicated to on-orbit services across LEO and geostationary GEO orbits and bring the company closer to realizing its vision of orbital sustainability for future generations. The closing of the transaction is contingent upon receipt of certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Astroscale U.S. has created a new subsidiary, Astroscale Israel Ltd., which, upon closing of the transaction, will be staffed by former ESS employees and headquartered in Tel Aviv. Astroscale U.S. will focus on meeting clients’ satellite servicing needs, including those of the U.S. government. Astroscale Israel will serve as the company’s satellite servicing research and payload development group for life extension of GEO satellites, which provide critical communications, navigation and national security services.

ESS has developed some of the most promising and novel on-orbit servicing technologies in the market and has deep experience designing complex GEO missions and programs. Its Space Drone program, which will evolve into an Astroscale U.S. life-extension platform, has been widely acknowledged by leading satellite operators — including prospective customers Astroscale U.S. is in discussions with — as a cost effective, innovative and compatible solution for satellite servicing.

Independent valuations estimate that life extension and other on-orbit satellite services will generate more than $4 billion in revenues by 2028. GEO satellites often cost well over $200 million to deploy, underscoring the value of servicing, repairing or upgrading such satellites rather than just replacing them.

In preparation for supporting this nascent market, Astroscale Holdings recently announced a Series E funding round to support life extension missions. I-NET CORP., a leading Japanese data center provider, became the first investor in this new round, which is expected to remain open through the end of 2020. Astroscale has raised a total of US$140 million in its previous four funding rounds, and this new raise will enhance the company’s already strong portfolio of on-orbit services for space debris mitigation.

Ron Lopez, President and Managing Director of Astroscale U.S., said imagine if rather than spending hundreds of millions of dollars to replace a GEO satellite, you could affordably extend the life of that satellite in orbit — that is the opportunity the company welcomes today with these outstanding new colleagues and capabilities. Astroscale is known for blazing trails in on-orbit debris-removal services in LEO, and now Astroscale U.S. will do the same for satellite life extension in GEO. The company is eager to start serving commercial operators, the U.S. government and partner governments around the world, all as a proud part of the U.S. space community.

Arie Halsband, Founder and CEO of ESS, remarked that the remarkable engineering team has been pioneering the on-orbit servicing market for the past several years. The company shares with Astroscale a similar vision and strategy for how this technology and platform could become a logistical solution for commercial and government GEO satellites, and beyond.

Nobu Okada, Founder & CEO of Astroscale, noted the world now relies on space-based services, and the COVID-19 pandemic only intensifies that reliance. The purpose at Astroscale is to enable space sustainability, and satellite life extension represents a massive leap in the firm’s ability to fulfill that purpose.

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Stories

  • First Structural Metal Cutting In Space Demo By Nanoracks + Maxar Will Be Aboard The SpaceX Transporter 5 Rideshare Mission
  • Amazon Web Services Names The 10 Participants For Their 2022 AWS Space Accelerator Program
  • Satellite Laser Communication System Projected To Grow To Million$$$$ By 2030
  • Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Enlists NanoAvionics For Three Surveillance Satellites
  • Rivada Space Networks Works Toward The Launch Of Their LEO Constellation

About Satnews

  • Contacts
  • History

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020

Secondary Sidebar

x
Sign up Now (For Free)
Access daily or weekly satellite news updates covering all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry.
Invalid email address
Notify Me Regarding ( At least one ):
We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. You may also unsubscribe at anytime.

Click Here to see our full privacy policy.
Thanks for subscribing!