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US, Japan Launch First Joint National Security Space Mission

US, Japan Launch First Joint National Security Space Mission

Japan has launched a U.S.-developed space domain awareness payload aboard its Quasi-Zenith Satellite 6, marking the two nations’ first bilateral space collaboration focused on national security. The satellite, locally known as Michibiki No. 6, launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on Sunday aboard a Japanese H-3 launch vehicle. It is the first of two launches planned under the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System Hosted Payload program.

The Space Operations Command’s Mission Delta 2 will operate the sensor to support space domain awareness activities for the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. It will provide near-real-time data to the Space Surveillance Network, enhancing the Department of Defense’s monitoring of the geosynchronous orbit over the Indo-Pacific.

USSF’s Space Systems Command said the QZSS-HP program includes two U.S. payloads hosted on Japanese satellites. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory designed and built both payloads, while Mitsubishi Electric developed the host satellites. U.S. and Japanese teams worked together for two years to integrate and test the first payload. A second payload aboard QZS-7 is scheduled for launch in early fiscal year 2026.

Col. Bryon McClain, a program executive officer at SSC, emphasized Japan’s critical role in space modernization and security cooperation. “In an increasingly contested space domain, Japan’s contribution to the U.S. DOD’s deterrence strategy has been, and will continue to be, key to [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s] awareness and operations,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Japan on space modernization, data sharing, satellite communications and more.”

The launch of QZS-6 builds on other recent space collaborations between the two nations.

Japan was recently granted access to the U.S. military’s Wideband Global Satcom satellite network, a crucial communication resource for the Pentagon and U.S. allies. The U.S. and Japan are also partnering to develop a lunar rover for crewed and uncrewed missions. Japan will design, develop and operate the pressurized rover, which NASA plans to utilize on Artemis VII and subsequent lunar expeditions.

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