Japan kind-of completes its sovereign satnav constellation

Japan has successfully launched the last of the current generation of the satellite navigation orbiters it will use to operate a sovereign positioning system. The satellite, known as “Michibiki No. 7”, aka QZS-7, made it into orbit early on Tuesday, local time, aboard an H3 rocket. The H3 is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) latest mid-range launcher and has flown nine times. Two of those missions failed, most recently in December 2025 when glue caused fat