The work is described as a “Regulatory Sandbox project” to test innovative Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) missions. The hope, in this case, is identify bottlenecks and areas of uncertainties around the licensing of what are still novel space activities. To get a better grip (pun intended) on regulation involving in-orbit refuelling, repair services and active debris removal.
In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) are categories of such RPO missions. And it has been estimated (in the UKspace In-Orbit Servicing And Manufacturing Priorities paper) that the UK could capture an estimated 25% share of this market. Specifically, this would be £2.7 billion market share by 2031.
An advanced RPO capability will underpin all future UK ISAM missions, believes DSIT.
The companies that will jointly receive the funding from DSIT are Astroscale UK, D-Orbit and ClearSpace.
Consortium
Astroscale is a Japanese company with a UK subsidiary, which works from the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus. ClearSpace is a Swiss company with UK offices in London. And D-Orbit is originally an Italian company, but with UK offices also located at the Harwell Campus.
They have formed a consortium to work together in such RPO Sandbox exercises. This will involve working with regulators such as the Civil Aviation Authority, and also UK government bodies.
Astroscale
“RPO – when a spacecraft purposefully manoeuvres to operate in close proximity to a client space object, and in some cases to dock to that object to perform in-orbit servicing – is at the heart of Astroscale’s missions to create a safe, sustainable, and secure space environment,” said Nick Shave, Managing Director of Astroscale UK.
“We’re on the crest of seeing ISAM become a much-needed routine activity in space. A key factor to ensure we get there is a clear path to licensing ISAM missions. This welcome funding from the UK government will enable industry to engage with regulators to address current licensing challenges.”
D-Orbit
D-Orbit’s UK Legal Counsel flagged the development of a sustainable market for in-orbit services.
“The RPO Regulatory Sandbox is an opportunity to feed into the development of a safe and sustainable market for in-orbit services in the UK,” said D-Orbit’s UK Legal Counsel, Lauren Payne.
“There are challenges associated with regulating innovative new technology and services in many industries, and sandboxes are a recognised way of bringing a range of key stakeholders together to address these challenges. We are pleased to be part of the UK’s first space sandbox and look forward to engaging with regulators and other key ISAM stakeholders in this innovative regulatory initiative.”
ClearSpace
Finally, for its part, ClearSpace highlighted the role of RPO for both public and private satellite operators:
“The advanced RPO capabilities developed by ClearSpace play a pivotal role in unlocking ISAM activities, which are set to provide enduring value to both public and private satellite operators, enabling novel space activities and ensuring safe and sustainable operations,” said Rory Holmes, Managing Director of ClearSpace UK.
“Establishing a robust and well-defined regulatory framework is essential to driving scalable and dynamic ISAM activities. We look forward to engaging with regulators to shape a clear licensing pathway for RPO missions in the UK.”
DSIT Sandbox
The idea for such sandbox projects is to help regulators better understand the emerging technologies.
This, in turn, should inform and enable regulation for such novel space activities which are set to boost UK economic growth.
Image: Astroscale
See also: Astroscale highlights the UK value for space debris removal
