SBRI: Active Debris Removal Refuelling Mission feasibility study - Phase 1

350 Longwater Avenue, Green Park, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom, RG2 6GF

Companies House number: 00868273

£415,716

No

No

Thales Alenia Space interest in delivering a comprehensive study stems from the importance of the in-orbit servicing future to our wider space business sustainability goals and the increasingly important role of the UK eco-system: We believe that in the near future, satellites delivered by TAS must serviceable.



Maintaining and upgrading the most valuable types of satellites instead of them becoming "junk" is therefore potentially valuable business.
Thales Alenia Space delivers a significant number of the World's
most valuable satellites and on-orbit infrastructure so by taking a leading role in solutions it hopes to have a significant impact on global trends for satellite servicing.

Sustainability is key to the future success of our business - we have the responsibility to preserve the space environment; at the same time we must continue to offer competitive solutions to our customers for the sustainability of our business. We see trends in the high value satellite market indicating the commercial value of refuelling and upgrade capabilities. These capabilities could give our customers business greater flexibility in the face of changing market dynamics. This project allows TAS to assist development of all sides of the UK supply chain including with refuelling service providers, in order to increase confidence in the refuelling solution.

Our project aims to design a mission to meet the goals of the study and future proof the technology developments and UK supply chain toward commercial refuelling as-a-service.

Unit 3, 4, 5, Zeus Building, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Rutherford Avenue, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DF

Companies House number: 10689249

£412,500

No

No

Astroscale's mission is to secure safe and sustainable long-term development of space for the benefit of future generations. Founded in 2013 by CEO Nobu Okada, we have offices in Tokyo, Harwell, Denver, Washington DC, Tel Aviv, and recently opened a Paris office. Astroscale is the only company solely dedicated to IOS across all orbits, focusing on providing EOL (End of Life) services, ADR (Active Debris Removal), and GEO life extension services.
Astroscale Ltd. (ASUK), the UK subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings, was founded in 2017. Our expertise in ADR services is broad and we are one of the world's leading dedicated space servicing companies. Following the success of ELSA-d, the world's first commercial demonstration of the core technologies necessary for space debris capture, ELSA-M is being developed at ASUK as part of our commercial ramp up. ELSA-M is a public-private partnership with the UKSA, ESA, and OneWeb to mature debris removal technology, designed to capture multiple failed satellites sequentially during a single mission, with an in-orbit demonstration planned for 2025, followed by a commercial service offering. COSMIC is another flagship programme at ASUK and our solution for the UK ADR mission. The spacecraft will harness Astroscale's RPO and robotic debris capture capabilities to remove two unprepared defunct British satellites currently orbiting Earth by 2026. COSMIC will be designed and integrated in the UK in collaboration with 10 UK-based partner companies and will build on proven space heritage while driving investment in the supply chain.
We recently invested in a new UK Headquarters and Assembly facility on the Harwell campus in Oxfordshire, which provides ASUK with facilities to support the assembly of satellites, as well as accommodating a team of close to 200 staff.
This proposal brings together four partner organisations: Thales Alenia Space (TAS), Airbus DS, Orbit Fab and GMV to provide an experienced consortium for the development of a servicer which can refuel the UK ADR client, then proceed to refuel a commercial client. Astroscale's concept leverages existing heritage from the ELSA-M and COSMIC missions, along with a setting up a predominantly based UK supply chain, creating outstanding benefit to the UK and excellent value for money to the public.
Developing a refuelling servicer will enable to growth of the UK in-orbit servicing (IOS) market and drive the UK towards the start of a circular economy.

30 Upper High Street Thame Oxfordshire OX9 3EZ

Companies House number: 13249835

£499,959

No

No

With this Call for Proposals, the UKSA is enabling UK companies to obtain the first-mover advantage in the emerging In-Orbit Services (IOS) market, which is forecast to reach a
$14.3B in cumulative revenues by 2032, with 43% of that predicted to be devoted to extending the life of orbital assets. Refuelling will be a critical part of this market.
ClearSpace's response to this Call is the "Refuelling Mission Extension" (REFUEL.ME) Mission. It will be the first UK mission to refuel two satellites consecutively within one mission, with the first client being the UK Active Debris Removal spacecraft.
The first step on this journey is the current feasibility study, for which ClearSpace has assembled a four-member, UK-based industrial consortium, each bringing key competences. The study will be led by ClearSpace's fast-growing UK subsidiary, which brings expertise in mission-level design and analysis, and core IOS technologies: low-cost sensor technologies, and navigation techniques & algorithms, and robotics. Orbit Fab will advise on their refuelling system, the de facto refuelling interface standard worldwide. Catapult brings their extensive in validating complex Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) in their dedicate testing facility. Finally, and importantly given the relevance of the business case related to the in-orbit servicing market, know.space brings their industry-leading commercial and economical analysis expertise to thoroughly investigate the business related aspects of the refuelling market

30 Upper High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, England, OX9 3EZ

Companies House number: 13877463

£499,618

Yes

No

Orbit Fab Limited (OFL) presents a ground-breaking proposal to augment the UK's active debris removal (ADR) capabilities with a pioneering in-space refuelling mission as part of the Phase 1 ADR Refuelling Mission feasibility study. This proposal is in strong alignment with the UK National Space Strategy's focus on sustainable space operations. Leveraging OFL's unique Rapidly Attachable Fuel Transfer Interface (RAFTI) and the Grappling and Resupply Active Solution for Propellants (GRASP), the mission is poised to revolutionise satellite lifecycle management by enabling extended missions and reducing space debris. Project partners include MDA, ClearSpace, D-Orbit, and BryceTech.
As part of Phase 1, OFL will develop a set of high-level requirements to address the specific challenge of refuelling an Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission and a subsequent commercial customer. This will ensure user and customer requirements are captured as part of OFL customer surveys. The outputs from the requirements and market survey will provide constraints to baseline a mission concept for the refuelling end-to-end mission architecture. OFL will define system and critical sub-system functional architectures and interface definitions. OFL's approach is built on a robust project management framework led by an adept team dedicated to achieving high-quality outcomes. The project team will ensure efficient coordination and timely delivery of project milestones to UKSA. The team boasts vast experience in spacecraft and technology development, setting the stage for a mission that is economical, scalable, and sustainable. Central to the project's success is a comprehensive risk management strategy, ensuring that all potential issues are anticipated and mitigated proactively. A living risk register will be maintained, with technical and programmatic risks addressed through collaborative engineering workshops and transparent communication with all stakeholders.
OFL's proposed strategy is to determine a "system of systems" solution capable of addressing diverse refuelling needs and will evaluate the feasibility of deploying a highly reliable and reusable shuttle service vehicle, complemented by simple, low- cost fuel depots. RAFTI, as a low-cost, passive refuelling interface, enables ADR providers to undertake multiple debris removal tasks without the need for launching replacement missions, thereby reducing costs, and enhancing mission value. The reusable shuttle's design, which allows for further servicing of a commercial customer, is a key economic driver, promoting cost savings by decreasing satellite replacement frequency and enabling rapid mission deployment. With over $30 million in investment and over $100 million in fuel delivery agreements, OFL is well positioned to deliver on this