Japanese private company Astroscale has completed a critical review of the project for two cubesats, which are planned to be launched next year to help the British military
in monitoring space weather and tracking objects in low Earth orbit. British subsidiary of Japanese Astroscale, which maintains satellites in orbit announced this stage 8 April 2026 of the year for the Orpheus mission. The mission was fully funded last year under a contract for 7 million dollars from the UK Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
For reference: Astroscale, founded in 2013 year, specializes in the development of technologies for cleaning up space debris and servicing satellites in orbit.
Orpheus sees a pair of near-identical spacecraft from UK small satellite specialist Open Cosmos fly in close formation for a year in low Earth orbit. Hyperspectral image sensors are installed on board, which will detect and identify targets, which are of interest. Astroscale will operate the spacecraft, using its experience in approach and close maneuvering operations, demonstrated during the satellite capture test in 2021 year and a more recent mission for a detailed survey of space debris.
Andrew Robinson, head of the space systems program Dstl, stated, that Orpheus will provide important research for the agency and play a "key role in advancing the UK's ability to design, build and implement space systems for the future".
Source: https://spacenews.com