The Diet approved the Peaceful Purposes Resolution in 1969, forbidding any kind of military space activity by Japan.

Safia Mansoor’s areas of interest include defense and strategic studies, emerging military technologies, South Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The fourth Basic Plan prioritizes output-driven space policy, harnessing human and financial resources, enshrining long-term planning to provide investment predictability, and ensuring cooperation with other nations, notably allies.

Many nations, including the United States, interpret the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as allowing non-aggressive military space activity.

Safia Mansoor is a PhD scholar in International Relations at the School of Integrated Social Sciences, University of Lahore, Pakistan.

Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System launched in 2018 provides positioning, navigation, and timing services.

Japan is developing a deep-space radar system coupled with a command-and-control center to enhance space situational awareness.

The Basic Space Law authorized the development of non-aggressive military space capabilities for Japan.

Safia Mansoor completed the Gaming for Peace Fellowship (2025) under the Nuclear Scholars Initiative at the University of Lahore.

Japan has shifted from a hardcore pacifist state to a security-conscious space actor.

The Peaceful Purposes Resolution is commensurate with Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which repudiates war and the use of threat or force as the nation’s sovereign right.

North Korea launched ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan in 2006.

Japan enacted the Basic Space Law in 2008, which formally changed Japan’s security policy toward outer space.

Prior to the enactment of the Basic Space Law in 2008, Japan’s space activity was solely non-military in nature.

The fourth Basic Plan on Space Policy emphasizes space security, national resilience, disaster countermeasures, addressing global issues, economic growth driven by space, and generating knowledge through space exploration.

The first Element satellite is scheduled to launch later in 2025 and is funded partially by CesiumAstro and partially through a U.S. Space Force Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI).

CesiumAstro builds a full technology stack that includes hardware, software, and firmware.

Other investors in CesiumAstro’s Series C round include Woven Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Airbus Ventures, the Development Bank of Japan Inc., MESH, and NewSpace Capital.

CesiumAstro expanded from a phased array technology provider to also supply ground antennas and full satellites.

Approximately 75% of CesiumAstro’s business is in defense and government.

CesiumAstro’s Series C funding includes $270 million in equity led by Trousdale Ventures.

CesiumAstro introduced the Element software-defined satellite design in 2024.

CesiumAstro received an award from the Taiwan Space Agency for a national experimental low Earth orbit program in 2024.

CesiumAstro is positioning itself to serve as a prime contractor for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and telecommunications missions.

CesiumAstro targets connected car applications as a commercial market for its technologies.

CesiumAstro holds a NASA contract for LunaNet technology.

CesiumAstro received $200 million in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to expand its manufacturing capability in Texas.

Woven Capital, the venture capital arm of Toyota, is an investor in CesiumAstro’s Series C round.

CesiumAstro expects commercial applications to account for 50% of its business by 2030.

CesiumAstro serves as a supplier supporting Rocket Lab’s contract work for the Space Development Agency.

CesiumAstro secured $470 million in growth capital.

CesiumAstro has a global presence with seven locations including London, Munich, and Tokyo.

CesiumAstro is building a new 270,000-square-foot campus near Austin, Texas to consolidate engineering, electronics manufacturing, and satellite and critical technology manufacturing.

CesiumAstro is focusing on missions that benefit from phased array technology, including specific frequency support, beam configurations, and anti-jam capabilities.

Elon Musk posted on X on February 2, 2026 an update about the development of SpaceX’s Texas launch site accompanied by images.

The public X post confirms continuity of construction and consolidation of infrastructure at SpaceX’s Starbase site in southern Texas.

Elon Musk’s X post included the phrase "Starbase has come a long way."

Elon Musk used X as an informal channel to provide a direct visual representation of progress at SpaceX’s Starbase site.

The expansion and consolidation of infrastructure at Starbase support repeated testing, vehicle integration operations, and technical support activities for SpaceX launch programs.

SpaceX’s Starbase has become an operational asset central to the company’s industrial and launch activities in the region.

The SpaceX Starbase complex in Texas has evolved from an experimental phase to a more structured industrial configuration for launch and test operations.

Consolidated infrastructure at SpaceX’s Starbase reduces the company’s dependence on external facilities for launch-related activities.

The images in Elon Musk’s X post document infrastructure evolution at the SpaceX Starbase complex over recent years.

The article carried a Brussels dateline.

The article included a photograph of Michael Schoellhorn.

Airbus made the case for a potential space merger involving Thales and Leonardo and also made the case against that merger.

The article was published on Space Intel Report.

Michael Schoellhorn is Chief Executive of Airbus Defence and Space.

Amazon Leo requested a two-year extension from the Federal Communications Commission for its July 30 milestone.

Amazon purchased 10 Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX for the Amazon Leo program.