The 1st of these launched on QZS-6 on February 2, 2025 with the 2nd scheduled to launch on QZS-7 in early FY26.https://www.spaceforce.mil/news/article-display/article/4055022/space-systems-command-japan-launch-first-bilateral-space-effort/ [Feb 5]QuoteA U.S. space domain awareness payload hosted on Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite 6 successfully launched on a Japanese H-3 launch vehicle from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on February 2. This is the first bilateral U.S. Japan cooperative space effort focused on national security, and the first of two launches as part of the JAXA Quasi-Zenith Satellite System Hosted Payload program.The satellite will be operated by Space Operations Command’s Mission Delta 2, which conducts Space Domain Awareness operations to identify, characterize, and exploit opportunities and mitigate vulnerabilities in the national security space terrain on behalf of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. The satellite will deliver near real time data to the Space Surveillance Network bolstering the U.S. Department of Defense understanding of the Geosynchronous Orbit regime above the Indo-Pacific region.QuoteThe QZSS-HP program encompasses the integration, launch and operations of two U.S. payloads hosted on Japanese satellites. In preparation for launch, USSF and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory teams have worked side-by-side with the NSPS and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation teams in Japan over the past two years to integrate and test the first hosted payload alongside its Japanese QZS-6 host. QuoteThe strategic partnership between the USSF and Japan's National Space Policy Secretariat originated through a December 2020 international agreement to jointly execute the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program. The mission’s second payload aboard QZS-7 is on track for launch in early FY2026.
A U.S. space domain awareness payload hosted on Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite 6 successfully launched on a Japanese H-3 launch vehicle from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on February 2. This is the first bilateral U.S. Japan cooperative space effort focused on national security, and the first of two launches as part of the JAXA Quasi-Zenith Satellite System Hosted Payload program.The satellite will be operated by Space Operations Command’s Mission Delta 2, which conducts Space Domain Awareness operations to identify, characterize, and exploit opportunities and mitigate vulnerabilities in the national security space terrain on behalf of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. The satellite will deliver near real time data to the Space Surveillance Network bolstering the U.S. Department of Defense understanding of the Geosynchronous Orbit regime above the Indo-Pacific region.
The QZSS-HP program encompasses the integration, launch and operations of two U.S. payloads hosted on Japanese satellites. In preparation for launch, USSF and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory teams have worked side-by-side with the NSPS and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation teams in Japan over the past two years to integrate and test the first hosted payload alongside its Japanese QZS-6 host.
The strategic partnership between the USSF and Japan's National Space Policy Secretariat originated through a December 2020 international agreement to jointly execute the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program. The mission’s second payload aboard QZS-7 is on track for launch in early FY2026.
On January 7, 2026, we announced the launch postponement of MICHIBIKI No. 7, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-7) aboard the 9th H3 Launch Vehicle (H3 F9). However, as further investigation into the launch failure of the 8th H3 Launch Vehicle (H3 F8) and an evaluation of its impact on subsequent launch vehicles remain necessary, the launch will not be conducted within the initially designated launch window, which was set through March 31, 2026.We are continuing our efforts to determine the cause of H3F8 launch failure. The new launch schedule will be announced once confirmed.
Flight 9 of a H3, no?
