iQPS

iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space) is a Japanese satellite manufacturer and operator building a constellation of small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Founded in 2005 as a Kyushu University spinoff, the company develops its QPS-SAR platform featuring a deployable 3.6-meter X-band SAR antenna capable of sub-meter resolution imaging in all weather conditions, day or night. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in December 2023, iQPS operates approximately a dozen QPS-SAR satellites in low Earth orbit, each weighing around 100 kilograms and delivering commercial SAR imagery at resolutions as fine as 46 centimeters. The company plans to expand to a 36-satellite constellation by 2030, enabling near-real-time observation at an average revisit interval of ten minutes.