World's first commercial spacecraft to safely approach and characterize an existing uncooperative piece of large debris through Rendezvous and Proximity Operations, demonstrating the foundation of future active debris removal.
ADRAS-J Debris Assessment Mission
World's first commercial spacecraft to safely approach and characterize an existing uncooperative piece of large debris through Rendezvous and Proximity Operations, demonstrating the foundation of future active debris removal.
Description
ADRAS-J (Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan) is the world's first mission to safely approach, rendezvous with, and characterize an existing piece of large orbital debris — a Japanese H-IIA rocket upper stage — using commercial Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) technology. The mission is contracted and funded by JAXA under its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program.
ADRAS-J demonstrates that commercial spacecraft can reliably close to within meters of non-cooperative, tumbling orbital debris without physical contact, using a multi-sensor suite combining visual cameras, infrared cameras, LiDAR, and laser range finders. The data gathered — including the debris object's precise position, attitude, and tumbling rate — is critical for planning safe capture and removal in a follow-on mission (CRD2 Phase II).
Successfully completed proximity operations validated Astroscale's full RPOD technology stack for debris removal, paving the way for COSMIC — Astroscale's commercial active debris removal service for national space agencies and satellite operators.
Specifications
| Mission type | Debris approach and characterization (non-contact RPOD) |
|---|---|
| Target | H-IIA rocket upper stage (large debris object) |
| Program | JAXA CRD2 (Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration) |
| Sensors | Visual cameras, infrared cameras, LiDAR, laser range finders |
| Orbit | Low Earth Orbit (same orbit as target debris) |
| Status | Proximity operations completed |
