National space agency
Appears in 3 stories
Built and launched QZS-7 aboard its H3 rocket
Every phone map, ride-share pickup, and delivery van in Japan has leaned on a signal owned by the United States. On August 11, Japan moved to change that. An H3 rocket carried the Michibiki No. 7 satellite to orbit, giving Japan enough satellites overhead to fix a position without the US Global Positioning System.
Updated 1 hour ago
Operates Hayabusa2
On July 5, 2026, a Japanese spacecraft flew about 1 kilometer past an asteroid the size of a skyscraper, moving at roughly 5 kilometers per second. JAXA confirmed Hayabusa2 pulled off the pass and gathered data on 98943 Torifune, a 450-meter rock no probe had ever visited.
Updated Jul 5
Co-developer and operator of the H3, responsible for the failure investigation
Japan's H3 rocket has been out of service since a December 2025 upper-stage failure destroyed a navigation satellite. A June 10 launch attempt was scrubbed by weather; JAXA reset the window to June 12, opening at 9:54 a.m. local time.
Updated Jun 11
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