Astroscale France has joined an ESA-backed consortium studying electrodynamic tethers as a propellant-free way to deorbit satellites and rocket upper stages, and to move spacecraft during in-orbit servicing missions.
The project, called ECO-Tethers, is part of the European Space Agency’s FIRST! Technologies in Sustainability for Future Space Transportation programme. PERSEI Space is leading the work as prime contractor, with Thales Alenia Space Italy also in the consortium.
The 12-month system study will assess whether tether-based concepts can be practical options for space transportation and end-of-life disposal.
Regulators and operators are paying closer attention to disposal plans for satellites and spent stages as more spacecraft enter low Earth orbit and congestion increases. Debris mitigation has also become a commercial issue for operators, insurers and service providers.
How tethers work
Electrodynamic tethers use long conductive elements deployed from a spacecraft. By interacting with Earth’s space environment, the tether can generate drag or thrust without chemical propellant.
Advocates say the approach could reduce the need for onboard fuel for certain manoeuvres. Trade-offs include the challenges of deploying and controlling long structures and managing dynamics during proximity operations and end-of-life phases.
The ECO-Tethers study will examine multiple use cases, including satellite deorbiting and upper-stage disposal. It will also cover propellant-free propulsion concepts and scenarios linked to in-orbit servicing.
Roles in consortium
PERSEI Space brings electrodynamic tether expertise to the programme. A spin-off from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, it focuses on debris mitigation and deorbiting products.
Thales Alenia Space Italy contributes system integration experience and an industrial perspective, helping assess how a tether solution could fit spacecraft designs and operational requirements across mission types.
Astroscale France is contributing operational experience in rendezvous and proximity operations, debris-related missions and in-orbit servicing. The focus is on how an electrodynamic tether concept would work in mission design and day-to-day operations.
Operators increasingly assess not only whether a deorbiting method works in principle, but whether it fits within mission timelines, risk limits and licensing conditions. A system-level study can frame those questions early by linking technical performance to operational steps such as deployment, attitude control and end-of-mission procedures.
Philippe Blatt, Managing Director of Astroscale France, said the project aims to connect policy goals with deployable concepts.
“ECO-Tethers is an important step in translating Europe’s sustainability ambitions into practical, deployable solutions. By contributing our operational experience, Astroscale France is helping ensure that concepts such as propellant-free deorbiting are not only technically sound, but also viable in real mission contexts,” said Philippe Blatt, Managing Director, Astroscale France.
The project also aligns with ESA’s Zero Debris ambitions, a long-term effort to limit new debris and address existing objects in orbit. The consortium will treat sustainability as a core design driver throughout the work.
Jesús Manuel Muñoz Tejeda, CEO of PERSEI Space, said the study provides a framework for joint work.
“Europe already has strong real-world operational experience in space sustainability thanks to Astroscale, and ECO-Tethers gives us a focused framework to explore, together, how propellant-free concepts could fit into future mission architectures,” said Muñoz Tejeda.
Astroscale operates in the on-orbit servicing and debris removal market, where business cases depend on launch costs, mission complexity and customer demand. Concepts that reduce dependence on onboard propellant can change mass budgets and mission planning, but they also introduce new engineering and operational constraints.
The study will assess the suitability of electrodynamic tethers across several mission classes and examine whether tether-based systems could support future service-based approaches to managing satellites and spent stages at the end of their operational life.
The consortium expects the study to produce system-level definitions for tether-based solutions and outline mission concepts that meet emerging expectations for compliant disposal and debris mitigation.