IQPS

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. As of September 2025, the company operated seven Earth observation satellites, each equipped with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR).

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

List of satellites

+Satellite ListNameNicknameLaunch DateLaunch VehicleSiteStatusQSAT-EOSTsukushi6 November 2014DneprDombarovskyQPS-SAR-1Izanagi11 December 2019PSLV-QLSatish DhawanQPS-SAR-2Izanami24 January 2022Falcon 9 Block 5Cape CanaveralQPS-SAR-3Amateru-I12 October 2022EpsilonUchinoraQPS-SAR-4Amateru-II12 October 2022EpsilonUchinoraQPS-SAR-5Tsukuyomi-I15 December 2023ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-6Amateru-III12 June 2023Falcon 9 Block 5VandenbergQPS-SAR-7Tsukuyomi-II7 April 2024Falcon 9 Block 5KennedyQPS-SAR-8Amateru-IV16 August 2024Falcon 9 Block 5VandenbergQPS-SAR-9Susanoo-I15 March 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-10Wadatsumi-I17 May 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-11Yamatsumi-I11 June 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-12Kushinada-I5 August 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-13Mikura-I6 August 2026ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-14Yachihoko-I5 November 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-15Sukunami-I21 December 2025ElectronMahiaQPS-SAR-18Susanoo-II20 August 2026ElectronMahia

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