Debris Removal as a Service: What ClearSpace-1 Tells Us About Buying Clean Orbits

Concept art of ClearSpace’s space debris clearing robot.
Credit: ClearSpace

ESA’s procurement, the switch to PROBA-1, and why ADR must look like a platform—not a one-off

Active debris removal (ADR) is moving from concept art to contracts. Europe put real money behind that shift when ESA bought a service—not a bespoke spacecraft—for the first debris-removal mission, a deal valued at €86 million. The intent was always market-making: specify outcomes (rendezvous, capture, safe re-entry), let industry build the capability, and prove there’s a buyer for “clean orbits” the same way there’s a buyer for launch or Earth observation.

Then reality intervened. The mission originally targeted VESPA, a small Vega payload adapter. In August 2023 ESA reported fresh fragments near VESPA, likely from a debris strike—ironically illustrating why ADR matters. After a review with the industrial team, ESA and ClearSpace changed target to PROBA-1, a 95-kg ESA microsatellite launched in 2001. The goal is unchanged—rendezvous with an unprepared, tumbling object and remove it—but the risk picture and operations profile are cleaner with PROBA-1.

The industrial setup has evolved too. ESA approved a restructuring with OHB SE taking overall mission leadership (bus, system integration, launch), while ClearSpace concentrates on the high-value piece—close-proximity operations and capture with its four-arm mechanism. For a nascent market, that division of labour matters: it demonstrates a repeatable way to package ADR where a platform prime and a specialised servicer share risk and know-how.

What does this teach buyers and vendors about making ADR investable? First, sell outcomes with transparent interfaces. Payload owners, regulators and insurers don’t want to finance custom chases; they want a catalogue: client characterisation, approach and relative navigation, capture modality, and a de-orbit service level that defines what constitutes delivery (e.g., confirmed destructive re-entry). That packaging turns ADR into something procurement teams can compare and insurers can price.

Second, cadence beats heroics. A single trophy removal barely dents collision risk; a schedule of missions makes the environment measurably safer and drives learning curves in guidance, navigation and control (GNC), autonomy and capture hardware. Mission-to-mission configuration deltas should be public: how the team tuned sensors for specular surfaces, or updated fault detection after a close-approach anomaly. That kind of reliability storytelling reassures customers reading the VESPA incident reports that lessons do become product.

Third, customer mix is essential. Agency demand is catalytic but volatile. Building a book across space agencies, national security users, and large constellation operators reduces programme risk. Early contracts can include partial-credit constructs (e.g., payment milestones for successful characterisation or controlled perigee drop) and reflight rights so the commercial model survives inevitable anomalies.

Regulation is turning into demand signal. ESA’s Zero Debris Charter has government and industry signatories committing to debris-neutral missions by 2030; operators that sign will need suppliers who can help them comply. In the United States, the FCC’s 5-year de-orbit rule accelerates end-of-life timelines in LEO. Combined, these policies create a compliance market for ADR and end-of-life services that looks less discretionary every quarter.

Finally, insurance and liability cannot be an afterthought. Underwriters will ask for independent verification (sensor logs, burn-up proofs), clarity on joint-and-several liability if an attempt goes wrong, and standardised post-mortem reporting. Vendors that bake those artefacts into the offer—rather than bolt them on—will shorten diligence and grow the category faster.

The “ClearSpace-1” project isn’t just a mission; it’s a collaborative template produced by ClearSpace and ESA. A platform prime, a specialist servicer, a service contract with auditable delivery, and a story that gets stronger with each mission. That’s what a real ADR market looks like—one customers can actually buy.