"Unlike much bigger players, our sole focus has always been on space debris"

ClearSpace will be taking a leading role in the project ‘Space safety and security’ for the removal of space debris. How did you convince the ESA Member states? 

The ClearSpace-1 mission addresses a fundamental problem in Space - that of proliferating debris and fast increasing risks for launches, satellite operations and Space exploration in general. So while ours is a noble quest, it is strongly supported by commercial logic and future Space economics. ESA’s torch-bearing initiative and the broad support it received from Member States is a confirmation of that.

Secondly, while we are a relatively young company, our team has been working on developing conceptual solutions and the technology around them at E-space in EPFL since 2010. Unlike other, much bigger players, our sole focus has been on space debris. 

How much preparation did it take? 

In terms of preparation, other than work on the technical front, of course, during the last year we explored various collaborations, paid visits, presented and held discussions with various Member State delegations and had in-depth exchanges with different industrial actors and suppliers, some of which will be our partners in this mission and beyond. In other words, we have had to engage actively, seek validation, build confidence and rally support. There is no question that the Swiss Space Office and ESA in general played a very important role in the process. 

Given the scope of the project, how will ClearSpace organize itself to manage and lead successfully the project? Are there specific challenges?

Challenges? No, not really. I am joking, of course…There are plenty of challenges in the coming days, months, years. This is just the beginning.

First, we need to expand our funding from sponsor Partners and private investors that secures our contribution toward the mission and, beyond, to a cost-effective Space clean-up service which is our long-term goal as a commercial enterprise. ClearSpace has selected an approach to rapid maturity through a partner network. We will integrate everything vertically but use experienced partners in a similar way Apple has approached the iPhone: Apple is the design house, integrator and service provider, and Foxcon and other partners assemble the phone.

This strategy requires a team with broad competences...

We are also really proud to have been able to assemble a great team with competencies in space system engineering, mechanisms, electronics, robotics, machine learning, guidance navigation and control, and project management

This team will face a variety of technical and programmatical challenges. On the technical side, a semi-autonomous capture of space debris has never been done before. At the same time, we will operate in collaboration with a pan-European consortium. So far, we have been fortunate to engage very complementary, competent and motivated teams in our mission partners.

You mentioned the new Space economy. Are there regulations coming up for this new market? 

Further ahead, there is the challenge of a new, updated global legal framework for Space… but we have a mission to fly first ! There will be plenty of bigger and smaller challenges along the way but ours is a very important quest and failure is not an option.

In view of what has been accomplished so far, do you have recommendations for Swiss entrepreneurs working on ambitious projects such as yours?

Large projects sometimes seem close to impossible before getting started and it certainly felt this way when we began to prepare for the tender. The fact that we were selected and funded by ESA demonstrates a change and the beginning of a trend in the space industry, which we also see in many other sectors, that large institutions are starting to look for fresh ideas, novel approaches and different solutions. In our case, the belief, creativity and competence of the team played a crucial role.

So, if I am any position to give recommendations, find a problem that you passionately believe in and build a strong, complementary team that is ready to challenge you all the way but that is also 110% behind the vision.

At what stage is today ClearSpace and how many people do you employ in Switzerland at EPFL Innovation Park?

At this stage, we are nine employees. We also have many external collaborators and supporters working at EPFL, HEIG-VD in the frame of a sizeable InnoSuisse project as well as some external experts and consultants. Our team will grow rapidly over the coming year.

What are the next steps for ClearSpace?

Other than finalising our European consortium and starting work on the mission, our next milestones are directly related to further engaging with large constellation operators and national agencies alike on product-market fit such as, for instance, building on our PPP contract with OneWeb.