What is the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

ADRAS-J, built by Astroscale, is recorded as a deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) on the DEPLOY registry. Astroscale operates the deployment directly.

Who operates ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

Astroscale, the manufacturer of ADRAS-J, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

When did the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting February 18, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

Is the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) still active?

As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.

Have there been incidents at the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

Deployment

ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)

Name: ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)
Start: 2024-02-18T12:00:00.000Z
Location: Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)

Inspection demonstrator that performed the world's first RPO approach to a real, uncontrolled large debris object (a Japanese H-2A rocket upper stage).

ADRAS-J by Astroscale · Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified

Track ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)

Recent coverage

Astroscale Secures Series D Round Funding to Clean Low Earth Orbit, Bringing Total Capital Raised to US $102 MillionAgentRecon · 2018-10-31

See all coverage →

Machine-readable surfaces

Markdown mirror: /deployments/adras-j-leo-2024.md
JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
REST API: /v1/robots/b459efef-6cda-4a78-9e9d-724fe6591766
Data documentation: /data
Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP

Footage

PRIMARY SOURCE

Courtesy of Astroscale

Astroscale's on-orbit footage of its ADRAS-J spacecraft performing an autonomous close-proximity fly-around inspection of a spent Japanese H-IIA rocket upper stage (2024). This was rendezvous and inspection only, not capture or removal (capture is the future ADRAS-J2 mission).

ADRAS-J performed the world's first rendezvous and proximity operations approach to an uncontrolled large debris object, a Japanese H-2A rocket body, reaching a closest approach of approximately 15 m on 2024-11-30 for inspection only, without capture. The closest pass reportedly triggered an autonomous safety abort due to an attitude anomaly, though Astroscale declared the mission a success, and deorbit began on 2026-03-25.

Key facts

Outcome: World's first RPO approach to a real, uncontrolled large debris object (a Japanese H-2A rocket body); closest approach ~15 m (2024-11-30); INSPECTION ONLY, did NOT capture. The closest pass triggered an autonomous safety abort (attitude anomaly) per reporting; Astroscale declared the mission a success; deorbit begun 2026-03-25

Safety record

No incidents on record for ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station).

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier: Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated: 2026-06-29
Model: ADRAS-J
Company: Astroscale
Location: Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)
Status: ended
First seen: 2024-02-18
ID: b459efef-6cda-4a78-9e9d-724fe6591766

Timeline

Feb 2024
First recorded
ADRAS-J first documented operating at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station).
Feb 2024
created
Jun 2026
Current status: ended, reviewed
Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

ADRAS-J operates in Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station). Explore the full verified map:

The global deployment map →

Sources (2)

Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-06-29

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-06-29

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: space

Sources by quality tier

2: unclassified; Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Common questions

What is the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?: ADRAS-J, built by Astroscale, is recorded as a deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) on the DEPLOY registry. Astroscale operates the deployment directly.
Who operates ADRAS-J at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?: Astroscale, the manufacturer of ADRAS-J, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) go live?: The deployment is recorded as starting February 18, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Is the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station) still active?: As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.
Have there been incidents at the ADRAS-J deployment at Low Earth Orbit (Tiangong Space Station)?: No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

Deploy Watch

Track this deployment.

We notify you when status changes against primary-source evidence, contract events surface, or a related incident is filed.