Photo: Astroscale

Astroscale has made a breakthrough in the security and defense sector, a new area for the company. Astroscale won a new contract with Japan’s Ministry of Defense worth 7.7 billion yen ($51.6 million) to develop a responsive space system demonstration satellite prototype. Astroscale announced the contract win on Feb. 27.

The project, which will run for three years starting this March, includes the development and testing of a proto-flight model for a small Geostationary (GEO) demonstration satellite. The satellite will demonstrate technologies to advance space domain awareness (SDA), space surveillance, intelligence gathering and space operations capabilities. Launch and operations will be covered under a separate contract.

This project represents Astroscale Japan’s entry into the security and defense sector, as nations seek to monitor threats and deter adversaries in space. By developing a responsive space system prototype, Astroscale Japan will contribute to strengthening the SDA capabilities of the Ministry of Defense and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. A future on-orbit demonstration will aim to enhance autonomous and agile satellite operations, space environment monitoring capabilities while bolstering the safety and sustainability of Japan’s space operations.

This demonstration is part of the Ministry of Defense’s broader initiative to establish optical communication links between Geostationary satellites through an optical data relay satellite.

“Alongside our existing government and commercial business, we have established a third pillar of our operations. By leveraging our heritage in rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) technologies, we will adapt our capabilities to the unique requirements of this sector,” Eddie Kato, managing director of Astroscale Japan said in a statement.