What Happened
Japanese Constellation Expands US Space Domain Awareness
The US Space Force has completed the deployment of two space-surveillance sensors aboard Japanese navigation satellites, expanding its ability to monitor objects in geosynchronous orbit. The second sensor was launched aboard Quasi-Zenith Satellite 7 via Japan’s H3 rocket, as part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program, a national security space partnership between the US and Japan. The US-owned payload, designed and built by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, will be operated by Mission Delta 2 and feed into the US Space Surveillance Network. This development was first reported by SpaceNews.