Astroscale said its Japanese unit will sign the five-year contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Tuesday.
The deal will allow the startup to retire the upper stage of JAXA’s H-IIA rocket, which was launched in 2009 and has been in orbit about 600 kilometers (373 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
Astroscale will develop a new spacecraft called ADRAS-J2 that will equip robotic arm technologies to capture the target debris in March 2029, the company said in a statement.
Debris is increasingly becoming a risk to space missions as the number of satellites in orbit has increased dramatically.
A Chinese rocket stage that disintegrated in space earlier this month created more than 700 pieces of debris, representing a new increase in the risks of a dangerous collision. ($1 = 147.9200 yen)
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