An artist’s impression of ClearSpace-1 capturing a rocket piece in space. (Image credit: ClearSpace SA)
By Jason Rainbow,
Published by Space News, 15 October 2026
TAMPA, Fla. — The UK Space Agency has picked Luxembourg-headquartered ClearSpace’s British unit as prime contractor for a 2029 mission aiming to de-orbit two defunct small satellites, the in-orbit servicing venture announced Oct. 15.
ClearSpace beat out Japan-headquartered Astroscale and U.S.-based Starfish Space for the contract, worth around 61 million British pounds ($80 million). It covers the final phase of an Active Debris Removal (ADR) program that is more than five years in the making.
The funds will help advance the company’s servicer through critical design review, ClearSpace head of system architecture Claire McCrorie told SpaceNews, along with integration, qualification and operations following a launch window ending Aug. 30, 2029.
After approaching and matching the motion of each U.K.-licensed satellite, both undisclosed and never designed to be caught in low Earth orbit (LEO), the servicer would use four robotic claws to grab and later release them on a carefully planned path to burn up in the atmosphere.
The servicer is similar to the one ClearSpace’s Swiss unit is helping develop to remove the Proba-1 imaging satellite from LEO for the European Space Agency, an OHB-led mission slated to launch in 2029 after U.K. ADR. That satellite is less than one cubic meter, which McCrorie said is similar in size to the two ADR spacecraft being targeted.
Before that, under an ESA mission called Prelude, ClearSpace aims to test close-proximity operations in LEO with two small satellites slated to launch in 2027 to derisk future servicing technologies.
ClearSpace also recently announced an ESA contract to advance technologies for Phoenix, a mission aiming to extend the life of a geostationary satellite due to retire between 2028 and 2030.
British in-orbit servicing push
The British government identified In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) as a key area for accelerated development in a space strategy report published in September.
“Space junk and debris pose an immense and growing challenge but with our homegrown expertise, the U.K. is determined to lead the global effort to clean up space,” British Space Minister Liz Lloyd said in a statement.
“By backing this world first mission, we will protect the satellites that underpin modern life from keeping us connected with loved ones and delivering accurate weather forecasts to keeping our country safe.”
Astroscale had previously received funding alongside ClearSpace to develop a rival ADR concept, making it through two earlier phases for a mission that was initially slated to launch in 2025.
Meanwhile, Astroscale is progressing with ELSA-M, which it says is set to become the world’s first active debris removal mission after picking Isar Aerospace for a launch sometime between May 1, 2027, and April 30, 2028.
While the servicer for ELSA-M, or End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-Multiple, is designed to capture more than one spacecraft pre-prepared with a magnetic docking plate, the mission is focused on removing a single OneWeb broadband spacecraft from LEO.
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