Astroscale nets additional $30m, appoints head for US office

Astroscale, a startup developing orbital debris removal technology, raised an additional US$30 million from several Japanese funds and existing investors for its series D round. The investment came in addition to the US$50 million raised in October 2018.

The new injection brings Astroscale’s total capital to US$132 million, the company said.

ELSA-d mission / Photo credit: Astroscale

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Astroscale also announced that it will set up a new office in Colorado in addition to its existing offices in Singapore, Japan, and the UK. The new base will focus on business development and technology growth, as well as help the company work more closely with policymakers and industry experts, said Astroscale founder and CEO Nobu Okada in a statement.

Honeywell Aerospace’s Ron Lopez will serve as the managing director of Astroscale US. He previously led the Asia-Pacific defense and space sales team at Honeywell and worked in the US Air Force and Boeing.

Astroscale is currently working on launching its End of Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) – a satellite aimed at testing technologies for identifying, approaching, and capturing objects in orbit – by 2020.