• Space Systems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 3502

TOKYO, March 24, 2022 - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has completed initial verification of the functions and performance of equipment aboard the QZS-1R satellite, which the company built and delivered to the Cabinet Office of Japan and is now in quasi-zenith orbit as the successor to the original Michibiki Quasi-Zenith Satellite (QZS-1).
With Quasi-Zenith Satellite System Services Inc. also having completed testing of related ground systems, the Cabinet Office will begin launching various positioning services via the QZS-1R today.
Mitsubishi Electric, in addition to supporting these services, will continue developing satellite systems that the company intends to provide for forthcoming satellites (QZS-5 to QZS-7) that will support advanced, sustainable, high-precision positioning in Japan.

  • Illustration of QZS-1R

    Illustration of QZS-1R

  • QZS-1R logo

    QZS-1R logo

Overview of QZS-1R

The QZS-1R was launched on October 26, 2021 from Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Compared to the first Michibiki satellite, the QZS-1R has improved durability that is expected to extend the satellite's design life by about five years compared to its predecessor. The QZS-1R, together with the QZS-2, 3 and 4 (all launched in 2017), will support positioning, high-precision positioning augmentation and other satellite services.

Name QZS-1R
Mass Dry mass*: approx. 1.6 tons; At launch: approx. 4.0 tons
Dimensions Stowed: approx. 5.4m x 2.9m x 2.9m; Wing span: approx. 19m
Orbit Quasi-zenith orbit
Design life More than 15 years
  1. *Dry mass is the satellite mass without propellant.

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