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Growing consensus calls for cleaning up debris in orbit
Growing commerce in orbit and increasing congestion have led more nations to invest in programs aimed at cleaning up decades of space junk.
Annual spacecraft deployments fall 3% to 2,802
Despite the large increase in launches in 2024, the number of satellites deployed actually fell in 2024. Still, these spacecraft brought a record mass to orbit.
Flock of launch vehicles set for first flight in 2025
With as many as 23 launch vehicles set to make their first flights in 2025, there’s also a renewed focus on sovereign launch capabilities
SNAPSHOT: Launch vehicles set for 2025 first flights
Twenty-four new launch vehicles, many delayed from 2024, are expected to take flight this year.
2024 set another launch record, 2025 poised to shatter it
With a launch attempt every 34 hours, 2024 set spaceflight records. More than half of 2024’s launches came atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 reusable rocket.
Government space budgets grow 11% to reach new heights
International government space budgets reached new heights in 2023 with $125 billion spent on space programs, 11% higher than a revised 2022 total of $113 billion.
Astronauts by top nations
The majority of astronauts (95%) have also reached the Kármán line at 100 km — the internationally recognized boundary of space.
SNAPSHOT: Global space economy
The global space economy totaled $546 billion in 2022, 8% higher than 2021 — and it could reach $772 billion by 2027, according to Space Foundation analysis.
Liftoff: Q1 2024 Highlights
The space industry is advancing faster than ever before with continual progress in the government, military and private sectors. Here are noteworthy business highlights from this quarter.
SNAPSHOT: Human spaceflight
As of mid-March, 685 astronauts have reached at least 80 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. This total includes 86 private astronauts, 22 times as many as there were two decades ago.