QZS-7 launched via Japan's H-3 rocket, hosting a US space domain awareness payload built by MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
The passive optical sensors give near real-time tracking of geosynchronous orbit activity above the Indo-Pacific for US Space Command.
The launch completes QZSS-HP, the first bilateral US-Japan national security space effort, as China and Russia expand GEO satellite activity.
U.S. Space Force and Japan Complete GEO Watch Network as Orbital Rivalry Intensifies

