Japan’s Astroscale gets contract for space junk harvesting robotic arm

$81 million to retrieve H-IIA rocket – and prove it’s possible

Japanese space debris cleaning outfit Astroscale revealed on Monday that it will enter a ¥12 billion ($81.4 million) five-year contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to remove the upper stage of the space org’s H-IIA rocket from orbit using a newly developed satellite.…