China
Active Launch Vehicle Operators by Type, 2000-2022
Orbital launch attempts have more than tripled since a lull in activity in the early 2000s bottomed out at 55 attempts in 2004. Part of the rapid growth in the past few years is due to a sharp increase in launch vehicle operators after a long period with an average just shy of 10 distinct operators per year.
Spaceport Development: Progress is Slow, but Global Interest is Strong
As the pace of small satellite development and global launches continues to accelerate, nations around the world are developing spaceport policies and courting launch providers and other space industries with the intent of expanding their access space.
SNAPSHOT: Launch Vehicle Operators
Orbital launch attempts have more than tripled since a lull in activity in the early 2000s bottomed out at 55 attempts in 2004. Part of the rapid growth in the past few years is due to a sharp increase in launch vehicle operators . . .
Commercial Space Stations Steadily Make Progress, Begin Preliminary Tests
As the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its life and the U.S. celebrates the 50th anniversary of Skylab, its first space station, the commercial sector is hard at work designing the next generation of space stations in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Launch Attempts by Top Operators, 2000-2022
Two of the top three launch operators — CNSA and SpaceX — have contributed to overall launch activity growth by exponentially increasing their pace, while the third — Roscosmos — decreased its annual launches by 42% from 2000 to 2022.
Study Shows Steady Decline in U.S. Students Studying Engineering, Science
U.S. Space firms battling for workers in an increasingly tight employment market could face a bigger fight after five years of declining enrollment for engineering and science majors at American colleges and universities.
Science and Engineering Degrees, in Thousands, 2000-2016
“Space education, research, and workforce development in the public and private sectors are core components of the U.S. national interest, with the potential to drive exploration and scientific discovery, to find new solutions for pressing challenges, including climate change, to strengthen American national security, and to provide good-paying jobs for Americans,” the roadmap document states.
Space Force Budget by Category, 2021-2023
In recent years, space has reestablished itself as an important component of defense strategy alongside the establishment of the Space Force and large budget increases for space programs. The Space Force received $1.7 billion more than originally requested for fiscal year 2023, resulting in $7.1 billion (39%) more than the enacted 2022 budget.
Per Nation Mass Share of an Estimated 973,000 KG, 2022
Operators deployed ~421 spacecraft with a mass of 200 kg or less, 18% of all deployed spacecraft in 2022. SpaceX’s Starlink satellites comprised over half the spacecraft mass deployed in 2022. The company’s Starlink deployments added up to 518,523 kg, nearly double the 257,140 kg it deployed in 2021. The largest spacecraft deployed during 2022 was Lockheed Martin’s Orion space capsule (25,848 kg), deployed during NASA’s first Artemis/Space Launch System launch.
Spacecraft Deployed Per Mass Range, 2022
Mass estimates of all spacecraft deployed during 2022 exclude many of China’s spacecraft deployments and all U.S. classified spacecraft. However, without the mass totals from those two spacecraft operators, the overall spacecraft mass deployed during 2022 is estimated to be ~961,200 kilograms(kg), averaging ~415 kg per deployed spacecraft.