Shares of Japanese space startup Astroscale surged 19% on Monday after the company announced it would sign a 12 billion yen ($81 million) contract with Japan’s space agency to clear debris from Earth’s orbit.
Astroscale revealed that its Japan unit plans to finalize the five-year contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, the startup will remove the upper stage of JAXA’s H-IIA rocket, which has been orbiting about 600 km (373 miles) above Earth since its launch in 2009.
Astroscale will create a new spacecraft called ADRAS-J2, which will be equipped with robotic arm technology to capture the debris by March 2029, according to a company statement.
As the number of satellites in orbit continues to rise, debris poses an increasing risk to space missions.
Earlier this month, a Chinese rocket stage broke apart in space, adding over 700 pieces of debris and heightening the threat of collisions.
