Astroscale UK has announced the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Ministry of Defence’s Orpheus mission, marking a significant transition from design to the spacecraft integration and readiness phase. The £5.15 million contract, awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) via BAE Systems under the Serapis framework, is a central component of the UK’s strategy to enhance its sovereign Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. This milestone, confirmed on 8 April 2026, reinforces the UK’s objective of safeguarding critical national infrastructure, including defence communications and navigation systems, against emerging…
