Flyby images the ADRAS-J mission captured of an upper stage rocket body in orbit in July 2024. Photo: Astroscale Japan

Astroscale Japan’s ADRAS-J mission recently completed a controlled fly-around of a rocket upper stage in orbit, taking pictures of the object. Astroscale reports this is the world’s first attempt to safely approach and survey an existing piece of large debris through rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO).

This is a critical milestone in the commercial debris inspection demonstration satellite mission, which has the full name Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J). Rocket Lab launched the mission in February.

Recapping the mission, Astroscale said that ADRAS-J attempted the maneuver in June and was one-third through the maneuver when there was an attitude anomaly that triggered an abort. ADRAS-J was able to maneuver away from the upper stage. 

ADRAS-J then reapproached the upper stage and demonstrated two successful fly-around observations on July 15 and 16, capturing images from various angles around the upper stage. 

The data collected in this mission will inform a future mission to capture and remove the object using the payload attach fitting as the capture point. This will be the second phase of JAXA’s Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration program. Astroscale is currently developing the spacecraft for ADRAS-J2.