Share My Space has signed a new contract with Japanese headquartered in-orbit servicing company Astroscale. This first contract will optimally enable Astroscale to assess space objects’ attitude in LEO, a mandatory requirement for any on-orbit rendez-vous.
As space exploration and satellite population continue to advance, the need for effective space
surveillance becomes increasingly urgent. Attitude analysis of space objects is a critical factor in ensuring environmental safety, mitigating the risk of catastrophic collisions in space and preventing further polluting fragmentation. To that effect, Astroscale has called upon Share My Space’s value-added services in orbital objects attitude analysis. By assessing the attitude of space objects, Share My Space ensures that space activities are conducted safely, responsibly and with minimal impact on the environment.
Share My Space has been utilizing its ground-based sensors to collect optical data for Astroscale in LEO, to analyse it and extract and characterise light curves. From these light curves, Share My Space describes rotation rates and tumbling axis analysis of all kinds of space objects. Tracking and characterising space objects facilitates potential risks identification and preventive decision-making processes.
Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations and is dedicated to in-orbit servicing across all orbits. The increasing accrual of space debris poses a growing threat for space operators, which must constantly manoeuvre in order to avoid collisions. To adapt to this new context, companies like Astroscale offer scalable solutions across the in-orbit servicing spectrum.
These services include life extension, end of life, space debris removal and more. Active Debris Removal (ADR) will especially be key in the next few years. ADR is one of the effective measures to reduce orbital debris. Comprehending orbital debris dynamic states such as their shape, attitude motion, and surface properties is essential to successfully complete ADR missions.
This contract echoes recent headlines, asserting a common will to effectively remove space debris. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has recently taken great care in setting guidelines for the long-term sustainability of space activities, which includes measures to reduce the creation of space debris.
Director of Government Relations & Policy at Astroscale UK, Toby Harris, said: “Astroscale’s mission to clean up space relies on timely and accurate information about how objects in space, such as space debris, are moving and what they are doing. Commercial Space Situational Awareness
(SSA) companies like Share My Space are essential to providing this critical information, enabling advanced mission planning and ensuring safe and successful removal of debris.”
CEO and Co-founder of Share My Space, Romain Lucken, added: “Share My Space is an enabler for space safety and sustainability. We have been working closely with the Astroscale team for many months now, supporting them in their mission to clean up space. You cannot capture a space debris without some level of characterization, this is the service that we deliver thanks to our proprietary sensor network. We are proud of this partnership, and we look forward to continuing joining forces in the future for this great endeavour."