Models
2
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.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
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Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
CEO
HQ
Founded
Total funding
Series G
Mission
Products
Incidents
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
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
Where Astroscale's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
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?
Astroscale is a Japanese orbital servicing and debris removal company. The ELSA-d demonstration mission (2021) successfully demonstrated rendezvous but the magnetic capture demonstration was aborted after attitude anomalies. The ADRAS-J mission (2024-2025) completed close-proximity inspection of a discarded H-IIA rocket upper stage but did not attempt capture. Astroscale is publicly traded (TSE: 186A).
- What is autonomous space systems?
Autonomous space systems is a cohort of robotic platforms whose primary feature is autonomy in space operations: lunar landers, planetary rovers, orbital servicing satellites, station robotics, and crew + cargo autonomy. The verified-vs-claimed angle is unusually strong: honest mission outcomes anchor the editorial substance. Five lunar landings in 2023-2025 produced one full success, two partial successes, and two failures.
- How does DEPLOY apply verified-vs-claimed discipline to autonomous space missions?
Space is the ultimate hype sector: dramatic claims, high stakes, and a public that wants to believe. DEPLOY's verified-vs-claimed discipline reads every mission outcome against primary-source telemetry, customer-of-record acceptance, and published mission records, not maker press releases, to produce an honest capability map. The framework distinguishes full success from tipped, failed from never-attempted, and demonstrated from pre-flight, treating precision as editorial substance.
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 →
Recent coverage
Astroscale in third-party press
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
- Lunar Outpost2 models
Financial state
- 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)
Investors: Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) (lead), DAIWA Securities Capital Markets, Itochu Corporation
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 (Tiangong Space Station)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedMar 22, 2021
ELSA-d at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)
Sources (1)
Common questions
- What is Astroscale?
- 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.
- What does Astroscale make?
- Astroscale has 2 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: ADRAS-J, ELSA-d (Astroscale builds physical robots).
- Who competes with Astroscale?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Astroscale building in the same form factors include Impulse Space, Astrobotic Technology, China National Space Administration, China Manned Space Agency.
- Who is the CEO of Astroscale?
- Nobu Okada is the founder of Astroscale, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Where is Astroscale headquartered?
- Astroscale is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
- Where does Astroscale operate robots?
- Astroscale is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Astroscale a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Astroscale ranks in roughly the top 70% of companies tracked by the registry.
- When was Astroscale founded?
- Astroscale was founded in 2013.
- Is Astroscale safe?
- Astroscale has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-18
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-18
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- 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
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
- Lunar Outpost2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Astroscale from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
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
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
- Lunar Outpost2 models
Reality vs attention
Astroscale draws attention at the 15th percentile but verifies reality at the 34th percentile among space robots. Hype Gap -19.6, 15th widest among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to 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: Jul 21, 2026