Tokyo-based startup Astroscale went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on June 5. The stock quickly sold all available shares. Astroscale started the trading day at ¥850 ($5.44), and finished it at ¥1,375 ($8.81).
First mover advantages
Astroscale is one of many companies focused on clearing up space debris from orbit. It is also one of the few to actually launch a demonstration satellite. In late 2021 and early 2022, Astroscale launched its first proof-of-concept satellite, and in 2023, was selected by NASA to put in a bid for raising the Hubble telescope to a new orbit.
The company has offices in France, Israel, the UK and the U. S., and actively works with space agencies such as the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), UK Space Agency, and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is engaged in projects funded by the agencies to demonstrate and develop satellite removal technology, and is scheduled this year to remove a test item that was recently launched as well as a commercial telecoms satellite from the company OneWeb in 2025.
Space economy picking up
Astroscale is the second company to go public in Tokyo this year. Lunar infrastructure company ispace went public in April. The space industry overall is picking up as the private companies that can withstand the inevitable failures (“Space is hard” is a saying in the industry for a reason) are beginning to bring in sometimes spectacular results.
What could go wrong?
Most investors who are skeptical about Astroscale point to the cost of removing satellites, and that the route chosen by Astroscale is impractical. Sending a satellite into space to capture one or two satellites and then deorbit with them seems expensive, even though it can be argued that the amount of space debris in orbit that requires removal calls for such measures.
However, there is also a growing body of evidence pointing to the fact that satellites breaking up in the atmosphere are releasing metals into the upper atmosphere. The effects of these metals in the atmosphere are currently unknown.
