2021
Annual aerospace engineering graduates, 2014-2024
The booming space industry is creating more jobs and attracting more students to fill them. For the first time ever, Georgia Tech’s 2023 freshman class had more aerospace students than electrical or computer engineering students.
Tracked objects in orbit, in thousands, 1957-2024
Data on orbiting objects, called “the catalog” by the Defense Department, includes all 31,620 objects larger than a basketball that orbit Earth at speeds nearing 18,000 mph.10 The goal is to prevent disastrous high-speed collisions that can spread debris like killer confetti.
Office of Space Commerce employees, 2020-2025
The companies are serving as data quality monitors for the TraCSS program. It’s the biggest program under the Office of Space Commerce and has driven the agency’s growth. The office has quadrupled its workforce since 2020.
Equity financing transactions, 2019-2024
Equity financing activity in the fourth quarter was down with 29 announced venture capital/private equity (VC/PE) minority financings compared to 35 such financings in Q3 and 37 in the same quarter of 2023.
M&A transactions, 2019-2024
Space sector M&A volumes were relatively consistent, with 13 announced transactions during Q4 versus 14 during Q3 and 11 during Q2.
New Artemis Accords signatories, 2020-2024
Metrics show how governments’ interest in space is rising rapidly beyond satellite ownership. By the end of 2024, 52 nations had signed the Artemis Accords, committing to best practices for the peaceful exploration of space.
Cumulative nations to reach space, 1957-2024
The pace of nations reaching space has increased rapidly over the past two decades, but the number of active nations has stayed largely consistent over the past four years.
New nations in space, 1957-2024
SmallSats are allowing more nations to reach space for the first time, but their short lifespan means that there has also been an increase in the number of nations leaving orbit over the past years. By the end of 2024, 92 nations were active in space.
Average spacecraft deployed per launch, 2014-2024
Commercial satellites accounted for just over 87% of payloads in 2024. Civil government and military spacecraft made up the remaining 6.1% and 6.5%, respectively — the first time in five years that military outnumbered civil.
Total spacecraft deployed, 2014-2024
Global spacecraft deployed to orbit in 2024 totaled 2,802, a slight decrease (3%) from 2023. This slowdown comes after a seven-year streak of growing deployments that increased the number of spacecraft brought to orbit by 13 times.