IQPS

Last updated
iQPS
Industry Satellite imagery
Founded2005 in Fukuoka, Japan
FoundersTetsuo Yasaka
Noboru Sakurai
Kunihiro Funakoshi
FateActive
Headquarters
Fukuoka
,
Japan
Productssatellite images
Website i-qps.net

iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.) is a Japanese satellite manufacturer and operator. The company was founded as a spin-off company of Kyushu University in 2005. [1] As of November 2023, the company operated three Earth observation satellites, each equipped with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). [2]

Contents

History

iQPS was founded by Tetsuo Yasaka, Noboru Sakurai and Kunihiro Funakoshi in 2005 to promote the space industry in Kyushu. By 2013, with its members aging, the trio were considering to close the company when Shunsuke Onishi, then a graduate student studying at Kyushu University approached them intending to join iQPS. Onishi was hired on two conditions: that he become the company's CEO, and that he come up with a viable business plan. Onishi's idea was to build small SAR satellites and conduct real time observation of Earth. [3]

The company's first satellite, IZANAGI was successfully launched by a PSLV rocket in 2019. [4]

Satellites

QPS-SAR satellite [5] [6]

List of satellites
NameQPS-SAR 1QPS-SAR 2QPS-SAR 3QPS-SAR 4QPS-SAR 5QPS-SAR 6QPS-SAR 7QPS-SAR 8QPS-SAR 9QPS-SAR 10QPS-SAR 11QPS-SAR 12QPS-SAR 14
IzanagiIzanamiAmateru 1Amateru 2Tsukuyomi 1Amateru 3Tsukuyomi 2Amateru 4Susanoo 1Wadatsumi 1Yamatsumi 1Kushinada 1Yachihoko 1
Launch date11 Dec 201924 Jan 202112 Oct 202212 Oct 202215 Dec 202312 Jun 202307 Apr 202416 Aug 202415 Mar 202517 May 202511 Jun 202505 Aug 20255 Nov 2025
Launch Vehicle PSLV-QL Falcon 9 Epsilon Epsilon Electron Falcon 9Falcon 9Falcon 9ElectronElectronElectronElectronElectron
StatusOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalOperationalPlanned

See also

References

  1. ↑ "福岡の"リアル下町ロケット"！宇宙ベンチャー企業「ＱＰＳ研究所」". RKB Online (in Japanese). June 28, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  2. ↑ Foust, Jeff (August 17, 2023). "Japanese SAR company iQPS to launch with Rocket Lab after Virgin Orbit bankruptcy". SpaceNews . Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  3. ↑ "九州から宇宙へ！ 衛星開発ベンチャー「QPS研究所」の師弟の夢". FUKUOKA leap up (in Japanese). June 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  4. ↑ Werner, Debra (September 30, 2020). "Japan's iQPS to update technology for future radar satellites". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  5. ↑ "QPS-SAR 1, 2 (Izanagi, Izanami)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  6. ↑ "QPS-SAR 3,..., 19 (Amateru 1,..., 4, Tsukuyomi 1, 2, Susanoo 1)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
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