The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Astroscale: 2 models, 2 deployments across 1 region, $51.0M raised. 3 sources back the record.
CategorySpace
Overview
Japanese space debris removal company developing satellites to clean up orbital debris. First commercial space sustainability company. $500M+ total funding including IPO. Series G closed with $383M total capital raised.
Reality check
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries E post-money
Key facts
Founder (reported, unconfirmed)
Funding (reported, unconfirmed)
Data & sources
Web sources
3
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Retired
ADRAS-J
Inspection demonstrator that performed the world's first RPO approach to a real, uncontrolled large debris object (a Japanese H-2A rocket upper stage).
Previous platform
ELSA-d
Servicer+client debris-removal demonstrator (175 kg servicer) testing autonomous rendezvous and magnetic capture.
Astroscale on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 1 region, newest verified Feb 2024. Explore where Astroscale's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Astroscale deployment record →
Relationships
Explainers
Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Astroscale, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.
What is Astroscale?
What is autonomous space systems?
Current leadership (1)
- Nobu Okada Founder and CEOsince 2013-04-01secondary-verified
Founders (1)
- Nobu Okadasolefounded 2013-04-01
Safety record
No incidents on record for Astroscale.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Astroscale2 deployments
Recent coverage
Astroscale in third-party press
Peers
56 peers across 1 segment. Every Astroscale competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
space(56)
36 companies in this segment · low_concentration (HHI 1188.742650389188) · leader K2 Space at 2172%
- Airbusdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Astrobotic Technologydirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Boeingdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- China Manned Space Agencydirect competitor(inferred)strong
- China National Space Administrationdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- ClearSpacedirect competitor(inferred)strong
Mentioned on (3)
Registry pages whose text names Astroscale.
Deployments (2)
People (1)
Financial state
- Total funding
- $51.0M
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- Series E2020-10-01
$51M(reported) · $714M post
Investors: Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) (lead), DAIWA Securities Capital Markets, Itochu Corporation
Timeline
Every recorded move in Astroscale’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries E funding round
2020-10-01Series E raising $51000000
Key hireNobu Okada joins as Founder and CEO
2013-04-01Nobu Okada appointed Founder and CEO (current)
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 6, 2026
Astroscale ADRAS-J debris fly-around inspection
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 6, 2026
Astroscale ELSA-d concept of operations
- Record createdJun 5, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedFeb 18, 2024
ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedMar 22, 2021
ELSA-d at Low Earth Orbit
Sources (3)
Common questions
What is Astroscale?
What does Astroscale make?
Is Astroscale publicly traded?
Who competes with Astroscale?
Who is the CEO of Astroscale?
How can I invest in Astroscale?
Where is Astroscale headquartered?
How much funding has Astroscale raised?
Who owns Astroscale?
Where does Astroscale operate robots?
How many robots has Astroscale deployed?
Is Astroscale a top robotics company?
When was Astroscale founded?
Is Astroscale safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-12
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-12
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Astroscale.Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- Blackswan Space3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Astroscale from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
聚焦在轨服务，要打造太空机器人集群，「国宇星辰」完成近亿元A轮融资｜36氪首发
文 | 阿至 商业航天的叙事，正在从“把卫星送上天”过渡至“卫星上天后”怎么管、怎么运营。 除了组网建设加速，一个直观的信号是，低轨星座的补网压力也正在逼近。根据NASA戈达德航天中心此前发布的研究数据，2020至2024年间，有583颗星链卫星从极低地球轨道坠落。而为了防止失控与碰撞，卫星的主动变轨和避让动作也变得愈发频繁。根据SpaceX…
Astroscale is ready to help the UK sweep away space debris
Space junk cleanup company Astroscale UK has secured ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification as it prepares for a planned orbital debris removal mission. The British arm of Japan-based…
British firm set to clear space junk passes security audit
Astroscale UK, the British arm of the Japanese company building spacecraft to clear junk from orbit, has earned an international information security certification as it prepares…
Astroscale Selects Isar to Launch Debris Removal Mission
Astroscale Japan selected Germany’s Isar Aerospace to launch its ADRAS-J2 mission to capture and remove a piece of large orbital debris. The post Astroscale Selects Isar to Launch…
Astroscale Closes Series G with Additional $7.5M, Total $383M
Astroscale closed Series G with additional $7.5M, bringing total capital raised to $383M for space debris removal missions.
Astroscale Secures Series D Round Funding to Clean Low Earth Orbit, Bringing Total Capital Raised to US $102 Million
Astroscale secured Series D funding bringing total capital to $102M, to advance its mission of cleaning low Earth orbit through active debris removal and on-orbit servicing.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/astroscale.md
- RSS feed: /companies/astroscale/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/eaf78c33-872d-4bc6-b0bb-d1cef402713f
- Revision history: /companies/astroscale/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- Blackswan Space3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
Video
The Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) will harness Astroscale’s rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and robotic debris capt
Space junk is posing a dangerous and expensive problem and has spawned a multi-billion dollar clean-up industry. Astroscale Holdings Inc., a Japanese space star
On Tuesday, September 27, 2022. Astroscale Limited, the UK and European subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), the market leader in satellite se
Astroscale Holdings Inc has successfully launched its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission - the world’s first commercial mission p
#ISCF #Robotics Astroscale is running a project as part of the ‘Robotics for a safer world’ challenge in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The Satellit
Tel Aviv, Israel November 2022
For story suggestions or custom animation requests, contact tips@nextanimation.com.tw. Visit http://archive.nextanimationstudio.com to view News Direct's comple
https://sharjah24.ae/en/articles/2021/03/24/Astroscale-launches-satellite-that-grabs-and-burns-space-junk
Astroscale is making waves in the space industry by teaming up with India's Digantara and Bellatrix Aerospace! This groundbreaking partnership aims to tackle th
Astroscale want to improve space sustainability and reduce space junk by enabling the retrieval, repair and re-use of satellites. Find Out More: https://astros
The Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC) will harness Astroscale’s rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and robotic debris capt
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Astroscale draws attention at the 67th percentile but verifies reality at the 16th percentile among space robots. Hype Gap +51, 8th widest among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 19, 2026