US Space Force and Japan launch space domain awareness payload

A U.S. Space Force Space Domain Awareness payload was successfully launched on August 10 aboard Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite 7 (QZS-7), completing a bilateral effort to place American sensors on Japanese navigation satellites.

The U.S. payload launched aboard a Japanese H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. It is the second and final sensor in the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program, marking the first national security space partnership of its kind between the United States and Japan, according to a recent release.

Mission Capabilities

The new payload will deliver near-real-time data to the Space Surveillance Network, enhancing the U.S. Space Force’s understanding of activities within geosynchronous orbit above the Indo-Pacific region. Geosynchronous orbit, approximately 22,000 miles in altitude, allows a satellite to match Earth’s rotation and remain positioned over the same location.

Combat Forces Command’s Mission Delta 2 will operate the sensor to:

• Identify and track objects in orbit
• Help operators understand potential threats or opportunities

Satellite and Payload Details

The Japanese QZS-7, built by Mitsubishi Electric in Kamakura, Japan, is part of a constellation that primarily augments GPS signals over Japan and the surrounding region.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory designed and built both U.S. payloads for the program. Space Force and laboratory teams worked with Japanese partners for two years to integrate and test the second sensor with its host satellite.

Official Statements

Col. Bryon McClain, Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for Space Combat Power, stated:

"The successful launch of QZS-7 is a powerful testament to the enduring strength and rapid modernization of the U.S.-Japan alliance. By continuing to merge our capabilities in space modernization and satellite communications, we are maintaining security in a contested space domain and fortifying our shared deterrence capabilities across the Indo-Pacific region."

Col. Gina Peterson, deputy commander of Mission Delta 2, noted that the program helps the Space Force meet threats from peer adversaries and build "resilient capabilities to detect, understand, and maintain custody of objects in deep space."

Program Background

• The first sensor launched in February 2025 on QZS-6.
• Mission Delta 2 operates both payloads through the Multi-Mission Space Operations Center/Enterprise Command and Control-Schriever enclave in Colorado.
• The U.S.-Japan partnership began with a December 2020 agreement between the Space Force and Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat.

Brig. Gen. Brian Denaro, commander of U.S. Space Forces Pacific, called the alliance one of the nation’s greatest strategic advantages in the Pacific and said the program demonstrates how both countries enhance security across the region through collaboration from design through launch.

Michael Scanlon is a defense journalist covering air and space warfare. A former U.S. Air Force A-10 crew chief, he has supported land and sea programs for the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.