US Space Force and Japan launch new satellites to boost surveillance across the Pacific and further beyond

• Japan has now launched the second U.S. surveillance payload under the program
• The payload will feed near-real-time orbital data to U.S. forces
• Mission Delta 2 will operate the American payload after deployment

The United States Space Force and Japan have completed a bilateral satellite launch meant to strengthen surveillance capabilities across the Pacific region and beyond.

A US space domain awareness payload was carried aboard Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite 7, launched from Tanegashima Space Center.

This mission marked the second and final launch under the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program, described as the first bilateral U.S.-Japan cooperative effort built specifically around national security.

A wider watch over the Indo-Pacific

The US payload will be operated by Combat Forces Command's Mission Delta 2, a unit that identifies and tracks objects across contested orbital terrain.

Mission Delta 2 is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado and maintains a presence at...

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