Barum & Dewar is delighted to have won a third contract with Astroscale, an international leader in the space sector. With a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, Astroscale is dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits - a highly topical and important area of sector development.

The contract awarded is for the design and manufacture of the transit and storage container for the the End of Life Services by Astroscale-Multiple mission, ELSA-M. This project will be the world’s first commercial removal of a client’s inactive spacecraft and have the ability to remove multiple inactive spacecraft one at a time. Funding for the mission is being provided by the U.K. Space Agency, the European Space Agency and OneWeb.

Having originally provided a B&D DELTA^® transit container for the earlier structural qualification model (SQM) for initial approval, this latest container will be a fully fabricated and environmentally sealed bespoke solution. With a 3 month lead time for build, the specification includes a shock mounted platform, purge and rapid decompression capability and dual height lids to suit variable payloads.

The rapid growth of the space sector has resulted in a large amount of debris which poses a risk to space stations and astronauts and risks inhibiting future space exploration. Barum & Dewar is proud to be part of a project that is focused on making the sector more sustainable. 

Image credit: Astroscale