Astroscale shares rise 19% on $81 mln space debris removal contract

Astroscale Holdings

19/08/2024 02:28

By Kantaro  Komiya
       TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Shares of Japanese space
startup Astroscale  186A.T  rose 19% on Monday, after the
company said it would sign a 12 billion yen ($81 million)
contract with Japan's space agency to remove debris from the
earth's orbit.
    Astroscale said its Japan unit would sign the five-year
contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on
Tuesday. 
    The agreement will see the startup remove the upper stage of
JAXA's H-IIA rocket, which was launched in 2009 and has been in
orbit about 600 km (373 miles) above the earth's surface.
    Astroscale will develop a new spacecraft named ADRAS-J2 that
will equip robotic arm technologies to capture the target debris
by March 2029, the company said in a statement.
    Debris is increasingly becoming a risk for space missions,
as the number of satellites in orbit has risen sharply. 
    A Chinese rocket stage that broke apart in space earlier
this month created more than 700 pieces of debris in the latest
addition to the hazardous collision risks.

($1 = 147.9200 yen)

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Stephen Coates)
 ((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya;))