SSC completes final delivery of second payload to Japan for hosting on QZSS

May 23, 2023 - By Maddie Saines

Space Systems Command (SSC) has successfully delivered the second and final spaceflight-ready payload to Japan, bolstering the contribution by the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to integrated deterrence in the region.

The two USSF payloads, developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratories, will be hosted on Japan’s GEO-based Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). The deliveries of both payloads to Japan follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two nations in December 2020.

This effort aims to demonstrate the ability of the U.S.-Japan alliance to extend to space; contribute toward the Department of Defense’s broader integrated deterrence posture against shared adversaries in the Indo-Pacific theatre; contribute to the USSF’s Space Domain Awareness; and provide a basis for future opportunities with international partners.

The hosted payloads will augment the USSF’s ability to conduct persistent, time-dominant volume search at geosynchronous orbit. Launch dates for the host satellites, QZS-6 and QZS-7, have not yet been announced.