BRUSSELS \u2014 Exotrail, a French company specializing in multi-orbit satellite mobility and focused on LEO service vehicles, together with Astroscale France, the French subsidiary of the Japan-based on-orbit servicing company, announced Jan. 28 a partnership aimed at testing deorbiting capabilities in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
The mission itself has not yet been fully approved. \u201cWe are still in the selection process by the French government,\u201d Maxime Jambon, vice president of public affairs at Exotrail, said. \u201cBut we hope to know whether we have passed the selection by the summer of 2026.\u201d If approved, Exotrail aims to launch the mission by 2030 on a commercial satellite from a European provider that has not yet been disclosed.<\/p>\n
The project is supported under the umbrella of the French government\u2019s recovery fund, France 2030, with Exotrail also investing its own funds in the development of the new testing capabilities. An initial framework was developed in 2025 through a study phase led by Exotrail under a contract with CNES as part of France 2030. This new partnership builds on that framework to complete a study of a deorbiting mission for a LEO constellation satellite, with the goal for this demonstration phase being working on the interface between Exotrail\u2019s service vehicle and Astroscale\u2019s rendezvous and proximity operations capabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see Astroscale as a company that already masters this type of technology, while also benefiting from linking those capabilities to a satellite and a platform,\u201d Jean-Luc Maria, co-founder and CEO of Exotrail, told SpaceNews. \u201cOn paper, we could appear as competitors \u2014 that\u2019s true \u2014 but this is the time for alliances,\u201d Maria said. \u201cIt will be in everyone\u2019s interest to join forces in order to accelerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExotrail is interested, in the long run, in selling integrated services that can provide both mobility and rendezvous technologies,\u201d Maria added. \u201cBut for that, we need to master new technologies. We already spent 10 years developing propulsion systems and the first version of our LEO service vehicle. We could have decided to fully verticalize and integrate proximity maneuvers, but that would have meant entering another R&D phase.\u201d<\/p>\n
The partnership is envisioned as a multi-year collaboration. \u201cThis framework with Astroscale is much broader than a one-off opportunity,\u201d Maria said. \u201cThe idea is to find a partner not only for this mission, but to build a real commercial capability. What we want to show the market is that this is the right time for partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
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