UK awards Astroscale £15M contract for counter-satellite spacecraft under Project LEDA

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Astroscale's UK subsidiary a £15 million contract under Project LEDA to build, launch and operate a spacecraft to examine how Britain could counter rendezvous and proximity operation threats. The deal was signed on September 29 and disclosed on October 28; capabilities, orbit and launch schedule are classified.

• The £15M (about $19.95M) contract was signed September 29 and disclosed October 28
• The spacecraft will explore countering non-cooperative rendezvous threats in orbit
• Capabilities, orbital regime and launch schedule are classified at the customer's request
• Astroscale built its RPO expertise through the ELSA-D debris-removal mission in 2021–2024