Astra to Build Engines for Astroscale's Retired Satellite Catcher

The ELSA-M satellite servicer will be designed and optimized to remove multiple pieces of debris from LEO in a single orbital mission.

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Astra

Astra Space has reached an agreement with Astroscale, a provider of satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits, to provide Astra Spacecraft Engines for its space sustainability spacecraft platform, ELSA-M, that can safely and responsibly capture and retire multiple client satellites in a single mission.

The ELSA-M satellite servicer will be designed and optimized to remove multiple pieces of debris from LEO in a single orbital mission. The development of the ELSA-M commercial service is supported by the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency as part of the ESA Sunrise program.

β€œThe Astra Spacecraft Engine’s flight heritage, reliability, and scalability were critical factors in selecting Astra as we prepare our ELSA-M platform for important customer missions, and we look forward to continue building a strong relationship with Mike and his team,” said Ian Vanoorschot, Astroscale’s Global Head of Procurement.

β€œAstra and Astroscale share common values in making space sustainable,” said Mike Cassidy, Vice President of Product Management. β€œThis agreement expands our customer base to Europe, where we see growing demand in Spacecraft Engine capability.”

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