GRUS satellites and AxelGlobe
Axelspace's fleet of small optical imaging satellites, sold as the AxelGlobe imagery service. Seven GRUS-3 satellites launched in July 2026, but four lost their high-speed data downlink.
Why it matters
It is one of the few Asian commercial optical imaging fleets, and Japan's Ministry of Defense is buying its imagery, giving the country its own source of frequent pictures of the ground.
How the technology works
The microsatellites image the ground from low orbit, and images are delivered through the AxelGlobe platform. Seven GRUS-3 satellites launched on Transporter-17 in July 2026.
In September 2026 Axelspace said four of them (3B, 3E, 3F and 3G) could not recover their high-speed downlink, while the other three continued checkout.
Sources
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction