Cleaning up space debris, Switzerland’s ClearSpace closes €26.7 million round

Renes, Switzerland-based ClearSpace has raised €26.7 million in a Series A funding round. The injection burn is slated to help propel the startup in its continuing mission to keep space free of junk, and presumably operational objects operating.

The company’s €26.7 million Series A round was led by OTB Ventures and Swisscom Ventures with participation from the Luxembourg Future Fund, Klaus Hommel’s Lakestar, In-Q-Tel, Happiness Capital and 600 T Space Investments. Given that Switzerland and Spacetech aren’t exactly synonymous, as part of the deal, ClearSpace is establishing an operational presence in Luxembourg that will benefit from the increased space and satellite focus in the region.

If you tuned in to the 2021 Netflix dystopian sci-fi drama Space Sweepers, or for the purists out there, Seungriho, you’re well aware of the dangers that debris orbiting in and around the third rock from the sun at a speed of approximately 11.7 km/s (26,000 mph) is.

In line with what Scotland’s Skyrora is working on with their Space Tug project, ClearSpace is ramping up operations ahead of the world’s first space debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, scheduled to launch in 2026. 

The company recently announced a satellite life-extension collaboration with satcom operator Intelsat, building upon the technology being developed under the €110 million space debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, secured from the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2020. 

Furthermore, ClearSpace-1, which is supported by Omega (yes, the James Bond Omega) and as planned to be the first of numerous missions low-earth and geostationary orbits for ClearSpace.

“We began this company 4 years ago with the goal of making space operations sustainable and are delighted to be joined on our journey by our new partner investors,” commented ClearSpace founders Luc Piguet and Muriel Richard-Noca in a joint statement. “The market is now developing, much faster than we had expected, and we look forward to accelerating our activities to meet the urgent needs of space sustainability.”