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Space


Information Gathering Satellites - Background

Satellites with imagery information gathering capability fall into two categories: optical satellites that photograph images using optical sensors and SAR satellites that synthesize images using radar reflection from the Earth’s surface. Taking advantage of both by combining them interactively will be effective since SAR satellites, thanks to radar technology, can gather imagery information during the night or in cloudy conditions that optical satellites have difficulty handling.

Therefore, the Ministry of Defense has been using various high resolution commercial imagery satellites in an all-round manner, including IKONOS (optical satellite) and TerraSAR-X (SAR satellite) for imagery information gathering. High resolution commercial imagery satellites used by the Ministry of Defense excel in cost-effectiveness and resolution, but embody a potential risk that necessary images may not be gathered on a timely basis.

Also, there is the Information Gathering Satellite (IGS), a system composed of optical satellites and SAR satellites, which has been introduced by the inter-ministerial effort of the government for the purpose of crisis management, including response to security contingencies and large-scale disasters. The Ministry of Defense has also been making appropriate use of the IGS for various information analyses. In addition, Japan has also been on track for developing and operating civil imagery satellites.

Japan operated the JERS spacecraft with optical and synthetic aperture radar sensors yielding 18 m resolution, which did not provide a militarily useful capability. One proposal in the early 1990s recommended a network of up to three Japanese spacecraft with resolutions of at least 5 m soon after the turn of the century (References 33-36).

In 1997 Hitachi signed a deal to resell image data from US-based EarthWatch Inc., and Mitsubishi Corp. teamed with the Space Imaging Co. consortium led by Lockheed Martin and Eastman Kodak. Mitsubishi Corp. has announced its intention to build a commercial ground station for Ikonos, and NTT Data has signed an agreement with Orbital Imaging Corp. to receive and distribute data from the OrbView satellites.

The Science and Technology Agency presented a budget request to the Ministry of Finance in August 1997. Following negotiations between the two ministries Cabinet approval was given in mid-January 1998. Despite complaints from the US, the budget allocated 5 million yen ($38,000) budget to start development of a Japanese intelligence satellite. The STA submitted to pressure from some politicians within the Liberal Democrat Party who wanted at least the possibility of such satellites put on the agenda. The US pointed out that Japan would not have professionals to operate a satellite or to analyze the data. A study by NEC of developign a Japanese system suggested a $2.4 billion pricetag, and annual operating costs of $200 million.

The North Korean Taepodong missile launch in August 1998 provoked unanimous support in the Diet for development of an indigenous Japanese intelligence satellite system. Japan did not know of the launch until informed by the US military. Washington subsequently reversed course, and announced support for Japan's reconnaissance satellite efforts.

Mitsubishi is the Japanense partner in the Lockheed-Martin SpaceImaging Corporation IKONOS 1-meter resolution commercial satellite imagery system. The Mitsubishi Group proposed detailed plans for a series of four "information-gathering satellites". Two of the satellites would have optical sensors with 1-meter resolution, and the other two would have imaging radar capabilities. The proposed satellites would orbit at an altitude of 500 km, using a large satellite bus based on a standard commercial bus built by Mitsubishi. The potential role of US sub-contractors was unclear, given the potential for technology tranfer to Japanese prime contractors.

The system was characterized as a "multi-purpose information-gathering satellite" that could also monitor weather, natural disasters, smuggling and illegal immigration. These euphemisms were adopted to avoid provoking other countries in the region, and to avoid violating the 1969 parliamentary resolution on space policy. This re-interpretation of this vague space law would enable the program to proceed with ministeral authorization, rather than requiring a change in the law by the parliament.

On 10 September 1998 Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi announcedy that Japan might launch its own reconnaissance satellite, to improve the Japanese military capacity and facilitate monitoring missile deployments in North Korea. "One possibility is launching our own satellite. We have instructed ministries and agencies to study what we would be able to launch and what functions it would be able to perform." The main opposition leader, Naoto Kan, endorsed the idea, and a task force in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party conducted a series of meetings with government officials and constractor representatives to develop an implementation plan.

In accordance with the “National Defense Strategy” (approved by the National Security Council and Cabinet on December, 16, 2022), MOD/SDF will establish a seamless intelligence gathering and analysis scheme by persistently collecting information on military trends in the vicinity of Japan and fundamentally reinforcing the capability and posture to process, analyze, and disseminate such information, as well as establish a posture that can promptly provide information that contributes to policy decisions and SDF unit operations. In addition, MOD/SDF will examine the ideal state of information sharing with U.S. forces and joint operations for unmanned assets, and take necessary measures.

To this end, the Defense Intelligence Headquarters (DIH), which plays a central role in intelligence functions for the defense of Japan, will strengthen the capabilities of each function, such as signal, imagery, human, and open-source intelligence (SIGINT, IMINT, HUMINT, and OSINT), while expanding the training base for analysts, etc., enhancing the system for intelligence collection and analysis, including the utilization of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), and augmenting its defense attaché system.

The SDF will build a satellite constellation for acquiring target detection and tracking capabilities, which will be complemented by various initiatives such as the strengthening of cooperation with the United States and the use of commercial satellites, as well as the strengthening of information gathering capabilities from space domain using information-gathering satellites and commercial satellites. In addition, various types of UAVs, etc. that are indispensable for effective ISR implementation will be procured.

By 2023 the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO), or Naicho, had its own operational capabilities. The department expected to launch the IGS-Radar 8 satellite into low-Earth orbit by the end of 2023, which would increase the number of operational radar reconnaissance spacecraft to six. However, while these IGS satellites were used for national defense, disaster management and industrial purposes, other ministries and departments did not have access to their data.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs could have access to more species intelligence data now that the Q-shu Institute of Space Pioneers (IQPS), a spin-off of Kyushu University established in 2005, began providing imagery from its private fleet of remote sensing satellites in mid-July . This event is also a saving chance for Japan's space radar reconnaissance. The launch of the constellation, which would have a total of 36 satellites, was Japan's first real success in this area.

IQPC launched two technology demonstrator satellites with limited orbital endurance in 2019 and 2021, but lost its first two fully operational satellites, QPS-SAR-3 and QPS-SAR-4, at launch in October 2022. The first images, published in July 2023, a month after the launch on June 12, aimed to reassure potential customers that X-band image resolution has already reached 0.46 m. IQPS intended to capitalize on this trial as soon as possible launch and plans to launch its second production satellite.

The fact that much of the information portal was presented exclusively in Japanese illustrates that IQPS's priority is to first meet national demand and quickly realize the capabilities required by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which still has to rely on satellites from the Japanese space agency JAXA.

The JAXA toolkit appeared to be unreliable. By 2023, the agency's ALOS-2 satellite, an L-band satellite capable of monitoring shipping via Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, was nearing the end of its life cycle. It was supposed to be replaced by ALOS-4, but the loss of its paired optical observation spacecraft ALOS-3 at launch on March 7 cast doubt on the continuity of the group's operation.

Synspective, as an emerging competitor to IQPS, appeared to be struggling as well. With investments totaling more than $200 million, the company made considerable efforts to enter the market with a fully functional offering, but the fact that its most recently launched (at the end of 2022r) satellite was called an “operating prototype” did not inspire trust in potential customers. It seemed that the transition to actual commercial operation would have to wait until the launch of the next spacecraft in the constellation, which in its full configuration should include 25 satellites. This meant that diplomats will have to endure a little longer while waiting for specific space reconnaissance data.

Japan launched a reconnaissance satellite 11 January 2024. An H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 11:44 p.m. Eastern and placed the IGS-Optical 8 satellite into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft is the latest in a series of optical reconnaissance satellites for the Japanese military used primarily for monitoring North Korea, but also support civil activities like disaster relief. The launch is one of the last for the H-2A, which is set to be retired after two more launches later this year.

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