Japanese leasing company Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing (SMFL) and startup Astroscale, that specializes in servicing satellites, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in order to develop financial mechanisms for the secondary market of satellites.
The main goals of the partnership:
Creating a market for used satellites: Companies plan to develop business models, where are the satellites, that have exhausted their original resource or changed owners, may be resold, moved to new orbits or refueled instead of decommissioning.
Space leasing solutions: SMFL is exploring the possibility of providing leasing services not only for the launch of new machines, as well as for service life extension operations (Life Extension), provided by Astroscale.
Circular economy in space: The initiative aims to reduce the amount of space debris by reusing assets in orbit. This includes refueling services, repair and modernization of satellites directly in space.
Traditionally, satellites are considered “disposable” assets. Creation of a secondary market with the support of a large financial institution, such as Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, will allow:
Reduce financial risks for new satellite operators.
Increase liquidity space assets.
Stimulate the development of on-orbit service technologies (On-Orbit Servicing).
This partnership is part of Japan's broader strategy to seize leadership in the space logistics market and sustainable use of near-Earth space..
Source: https://spacemedia.jp