July 19, 2023 – Wind River®, a global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems, today announced that VxWorks® is used in the On-Board Computer (OBC) to command the Astroscale ELSA-M Servicer spacecraft. Astroscale develops innovative solutions to create sustainable space systems and mitigate the growing and hazardous buildup of debris in space. Astroscale’s End-of-Life service line (ELSA-M) provides a space debris solution to safely and responsibly capture and retire multiple satellites in one mission. The OBC will support the rendezvous between Astroscale’s servicer spacecraft and the client satellite. Astroscale’s software applications on VxWorks are responsible for the computer vision processing for the computer system that will command ELSA-M. A high level of precision is needed for robotic operations, including maneuvers during rendezvous between the ELSA-M servicer and retired satellites. An in-orbit demonstration (IOD) mission to capture an inactive satellite is anticipated to launch in 2025. This will be the first time a commercial active debris removal (ADR) satellite will complete the end-to-end operations of a removal service with a full-sized and fully representative client satellite. The mission is part of Astroscale’s partnership with OneWeb and the European Space Agency (ESA).