The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command and Japan have launched their first bilateral space endeavor aimed at strengthening national security.
The Space Systems Command said Tuesday Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite 6, or QZS-6, carried a U.S. space domain awareness payload as it was launched on Feb. 2 from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Tanegashima Space Center.
Boosting Indo-Pacific Awareness
The Space Operation Command’s Mission Delta 2, or MD 2, will operate the QZS-6, which will transmit real-time data to the Space Surveillance Network enabling the DOD to boost its understanding of the Geosynchronous Orbit regime above the Indo-Pacific region. The MD 2 conducts space domain awareness operations aimed at detecting, evaluating and capitalizing on opportunities while mitigating risks in the national security space.
Details of the Collaboration
The QZSS-HP program involves two U.S. payloads integrated into Japanese satellites. The USSF and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory collaborated with Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to incorporate and assess the first payload on the QZS-6 satellite. MIT/LL designed the two payloads while MELCO designed and built the satellites.
“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 INDOPACOM awareness and operations,” said Col. Bryon McClain, program executive officer for Space Domain Awareness.
Col. Raj Agrawal, commander of Mission Delta 2, added, “These sensors will support the fusion of space- and ground-based Space Domain Awareness to further reinforce all-domain collective defense with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.”
