Japan's military satellites
overhead24 follows 5 working satellites that GCAT classes as military and gives to Japan: 2 in low Earth orbit and 3 in geostationary orbit. In the last 30 days the event log recorded 1 orbit change involving its military satellites. On 21 October 2026 they were predicted to pass over the fighting in 22 conflict areas 37 times, most often over Nigeria.
By orbit
from each satellite's newest elements| In low Earth orbit | 2 |
| In geostationary orbit | 3 |
By mission
GCAT categoriesCommunications
3 workingImaging (optical)
1 workingImaging (radar)
1 workingOrbit changes
last 30 daysChanges in orbit size or tilt between two public element sets larger than that kind of orbit shows between updates: the satellite fired its engines.
- SUPERBIRD 8 changed orbit: orbit raised by 0.1 km, tilt changed by 0.03°10 Oct, 14:44 UTC
Geostationary satellites
positions on 21 October 2026| Satellite | Longitude | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| LUCAS (JDRS-1) | 90.8°E | stationed |
| DSN-3 | 144.1°E | stationed |
| SUPERBIRD 8 | 162.0°E | stationed |
Over conflict areas, 21 October 2026
predicted passesHow often Japan's working military satellites pass over places where UCDP recorded fighting this year, in the UTC day. Arrows: the last 7 days against the 7 before.
- Nigeria4passes
- Sudan3passes
- Democratic Republic of the Congo3passes
- Philippines3passes
- Pakistan2passes
- Myanmar2passes
- Niger2passes
- Iraq2passes
- Cameroon2passes
- Russian Federation2passes
- Mali1passes
- Indonesia1passes
- Syria1passes
- Haiti1passes
- Colombia1passes
- Chad1passes
- Palestine1passes
- Kenya1passes
- Ethiopia1passes
- Iran1passes
- Mexico1passes
- Thailand1passes
Other countries
by working military satellites
Military class, mission and country: GCAT by Jonathan McDowell (CC BY 4.0). Working means CelesTrak lists it as operational, partly operational, backup, spare or on an extended mission, or it launched after CelesTrak's last list. Orbits, orbit changes, approaches and geostationary positions: worked out by overhead24 from Space-Track.org elements. Conflict areas: UCDP. See military satellites over conflict areas and how overhead24 works.