Astroscale Surge on Tokyo Stock Exchange Debut, Valuing Company at $1 Billion

Astroscale, a pioneering company in satellite servicing and debris removal has debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market with an impressive showing of strong investor confidence in the company's future prospects.Opening at 850 yen ($5.46) per share, Astroscale's stock closed at 1,375 yen after peaking at 1,581 yen during the day. This surge resulted in a market capitalization of approximately 155.4 billion yen, or $1 billion.

Astroscale announced its public offering plans on May 1, issuing 20.8 million shares. The Tokyo-based firm, which also operates offices in France, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, focuses on extending the life of satellites and actively removing space debris. Despite reporting revenue of 1.79 billion yen for the fiscal year ending April 2023, Astroscale faced a net loss of 9.26 billion yen.

The company's current operations include the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) mission. This mission involves a spacecraft designed to approach and inspect an H-2A upper stage left in low Earth orbit. The ADRAS-J spacecraft successfully approached within several hundred meters of the upper stage in late April. However, no recent updates on its performance have been provided.

ADRAS-J represents the initial phase of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The program's second phase will involve a mission to grapple and deorbit the upper stage. JAXA selected Astroscale for this mission in April, although the value of the award remains undisclosed.

Astroscale has previously conducted its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission, testing rendezvous and proximity operations. The company plans to launch a follow-up mission, ELSA-M, next year to demonstrate the ability to deorbit a OneWeb satellite.

Additionally, Astroscale U.S. secured a $25.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force last year to develop a refueling spacecraft known as the Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling (APS-R). This spacecraft will operate in geostationary orbit, performing multiple refueling missions using hydrazine propellant. It will work in conjunction with a fuel depot developed by Orbit Fab and may be used to refuel Astroscale’s Life Extension In-Orbit (LEXI) spacecraft, which aims to dock with and extend the life of satellites in GEO.

Astroscale's successful debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange underscores the growing importance and potential profitability of satellite servicing and space debris removal, essential components for sustaining the future of space operations.