This is a first for the European Space Agency (ESA).
Twelve years after NASA, which turned to private players such as SpaceX to purchase satellite launch services or transport astronauts to the International Space Station, ESA is adopting this New Space approach.
This Tuesday, December 1, the agency signed an unprecedented service contract with a private actor, the Swiss start-up ClearSpace, responsible for developing an autonomous space debris cleaner.
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“We are investing 86 million euros under this contract with a total value of 100 million. ClearSpace is responsible for raising the balance of funds from private investors, ”
explains Éric Morel de Westgaver, director of industrial policy, purchasing and legal affairs at ESA.
The start-up, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, was selected after a process launched in 2018.
“We received thirteen proposals in October 2018 after a call for ideas to desorb
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