Astroscale

Recognized under Tier 8 — Robotics, Astroscale is a Japanese in-orbit servicing company operating two parallel debris-removal programs. Its ADRAS-J spacecraft, launched in February 2024, closed to within 15 meters of a derelict H-2A rocket stage and validated autonomous rendezvous and collision-avoidance techniques; the follow-on ADRAS-J2 mission, under a roughly $82 million JAXA contract, will attempt to actually capture and deorbit that same debris with a robotic arm, targeting fiscal year 2027. Separately, Astroscale's ELSA-M spacecraft, which uses a magnetic docking system to remove multiple end-of-life satellites, selected Isar Aerospace for launch in March 2026, though the mission has slipped to fiscal year 2028 or later. Rendezvous, capture, and servicing of uncooperative objects are the same skills a Mars-bound infrastructure network will need to refuel, repair, or retire hardware left in cislunar space and along transit corridors.