By Sarah Cope | 2026-03-17

At a time of rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) partnership demonstrates how shared capabilities in the space domain can deepen deterrence and strengthen security across the region.

The Quad -- comprising the United States, India, Japan and Australia -- is an informal strategic forum focused on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and fostering multilateral responses to regional issues.

While not a formal alliance, the grouping emphasizes cooperation across a range of domains, including maritime, cyber, and -- increasingly -- space.

Recent US-Japan initiatives demonstrate the growing importance of space capabilities in collective deterrence efforts and as a core component of security architecture.

Joint projects have included efforts to enhance space domain awareness and information sharing to help protect key space infrastructure.

The first bilateral, national security-focused space collaboration between Japan and the United States was the February 2025 launch of a space domain awareness payload hosted on Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite 6 (QZS-6).

The satellite was designed to transmit near-real-time data to the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) to help identify and mitigate potential threats in space.

SSN is a global network of ground and space-based sensors managed by US Space Command that is used to detect, track, catalog and identify man-made objects orbiting the Earth.

The two nations have a spate of agreements that focus on hosting each other’s payloads on launched satellites.

Beyond security, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA are collaborating on lunar exploration and attempting to develop a sustainable human presence on the moon.

Through an agreement inked in April 2024, JAXA will design and develop a pressurized rover capable of crewed and uncrewed missions on the moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover.

The deal includes a provision for NASA to bring Japanese astronauts to land on the moon with future NASA missions.

For the rest of the Quad, this bilateral partnership provides a template for integration and cooperation in orbit.

India’s space program

Space is essential for navigation, communication, intelligence collection, and missile early warning systems. Its necessity for modern security purposes has become clear.

As a result, the ability to monitor and defend space assets has grown in its importance to regional security strategies.

India’s role is particularly significant in this emerging framework. Situated between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, India extends the technological and geographic reach of the Quad’s efforts to promote security.

Since its inception in 1969, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been working to advance space research and technology. It maintains independent launch and satellite capabilities, making it a critical partner that provides data, launch capacity, and surveillance coverage to other nations.

India has been in the vanguard of space capabilities and has particularly focused efforts on lunar exploration and satellite launch capabilities.

It was the fourth nation to land an unmanned aircraft on the moon, and its lunar ambitions include an upcoming sample return and a crewed lunar landing with a target date of 2040.

The country's booming commercial space sector is a testament to its appetite for space research and innovation.

India’s Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh estimated that India’s space economy is worth about $8.4 billion -- a roughly 2% share of the global space market.

In December, ISRO launched its heaviest-ever commercial satellite, BlueBird Block-2, into low Earth orbit. US-based company AST SpaceMobile built the satellite, which was launched by India’s LVM-3 rocket.

ISRO hopes to use a modified version of this rocket for future human spaceflight missions.

Quad's close coordination

Australia rounds out the Quad’s capabilities, contributing its geostrategic location and space infrastructure. Its location in the southern hemisphere enables satellite tracking, communications relay, and potential launch capabilities.

These complement US, Japanese and Indian systems.

Close cooperation among the Quad powers is driven by growing aggression and counterspace capabilities of strategic competitors.

China has invested in anti-satellite weapons and space surveillance systems that could threaten, and potentially disable, essential satellites during a conflict.

At the same time, Russia has pursued advanced counterspace technologies, including the deployment of payloads from "Matryoshka," or nesting doll, satellites, and the stalking of US and partner satellites.

These developments have made the necessity of Quad coordination clear and accelerated their efforts to deepen cooperation.

The Indo-Pacific’s central role in global competition and the importance of space capabilities to deterrence and security underscore the importance of strong, collaborative regional partnerships.

By rooting these partnerships in both security practices like information sharing as well as scientific research and exploration, Quad partners can strengthen trust, expand shared capabilities, and build more resilient space architecture.