Mitsubishi Electric 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. The satellite is now in quasi-zenith orbit as the successor to the original Michibiki Quasi-Zenith Satellite (QZS-1). With Quasi-Zenith Satellite System Services also having completed testing of related ground systems, the Cabinet Office will begin launching various positioning services via the QZS-1R today.
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.
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.
