2020
Midyear launches by select nations, 2014-2024
China led its global rivals with seven military launches, one more than the United States. China’s launches included fielding a new series of high-resolution spy satellites, according to state-controlled media.8 Russia and Japan each launched two military missions, while North Korea and Japan had a single mission each. The United States led the world in civil government space launches of the first half of the year, with a dozen launches.
Midyear launch trends, 2014-2024
Global launches through June 30 were up nearly 30% from 2023, easily eclipsing last year’s record 97 first half launches with 126. Launch failures also fell in the first half of 2024 despite the higher launch activity.
Private investments in space ventures in Europe, average between ESPI and dealroom values
While space remains institutionally driven for most of its segments, the role of private investors in Europe is of growing importance.
Estimated spending for NASA and U.S. defense, 2005-2025
The Pentagon made up more than a third of global defense spending, with $851 billion in 2024, including a record $30 billion for the Space Force.
Space Force, NASA spending, 2020-2025
With record 2023 Pentagon space budgets, including $30 billion for the Space Force, the United States remained the globe’s top military spender, topping the combined total of the next nine nations.
Earth observation revenue, 2014-2023
Access Markets International estimates that the global Earth Observation sector generated $5.9 billion in revenue in 2023, up 8% over $5.4 billion in 2022.
Launch value by market, 2019-2023
The market value of uncrewed commercial launches conducted in 2023 was $3.9 billion. This is an increase of 35% compared to the $2.9 billion in revenue in 2022, driven largely by the accelerating deployment of the Starlink constellation.
Proportion of governments that increased space spending, 2019-2024
On the government side, international space spending grew 11% to $125 billion. The United States accounted for 59% of government spending between its civil and military space programs.
Top three commercial space sectors, 2019-2023
Commercial revenues totaled $445 billion in 2023, 6.5% higher than the prior year. Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) increased slower than overall commercial revenues, growing 5.4% last year. Despite the smaller magnitude of the Ground Stations and Equipment revenues (about half the size of PNT), the category grew 18% in 2023. Direct-to-Home Television, the third-largest category, continued its gradual five-year decline.
NASA commercial contracts awarded, 2016-2023
Through the CLPS initiative, NASA is working with 14 American companies to provide payload integration to, and surface operations on, the Moon. The initiative holds a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028.