Infrastructure
Launch
2014 – Japan Launch, Payload
Japan successfully conducted ## orbital launches in 2014, placing a variety of payloads into orbit for domestic customers. Japan’s launch rate continues its climb from a low of ## in 2012 and ## in 2013. For all of the launches in 2014, Japan’s vehicle of choice was the H-IIA, launching out of Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
2014 – Europe Launch, Payload
Europe conducted ## orbital launch attempts in 2014, all of which were successful. Europe’s Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle carried most of the payloads, which deployed positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites as well as the fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Georges Lemaitre, carrying cargo and fuel to the ISS.
2014 – China Launch, Payload
China’s 2014 rate of ## launch attempts surpassed its 2013 total by ##. China’s launch vehicle family of choice was the Long March, and all ## of China’s launches were successful as they deployed a variety of military and civil spacecraft. One of China’s newest launch vehicles was previously expected to undertake its first flight in 2014.
2014 – Russia Launch, Payload
Russia retained its position as the world’s most prolific orbital launch provider in 2014, a position it has maintained since 2004. Russia’s launch tempo in 2014 was the same as in 2013, with ## launch attempts, all of which were successful except for one Proton Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) with a Russian communications satellite aboard. Launch success does not always correspond to mission success, as in August 2014 when the Fregat upper stage of a Soyuz ST failed to position its two Galileo PNT satellites in the correct orbit. As of the end of 2014, the satellites’ operator, ESA, was still evaluating whether the satellites might be usable in altered orbits.
2014 – U.S. Launch, Payload
The United States attempted to launch ## rockets in 2014, all but ## of which were successful. United Launch Alliance (ULA) provided the majority of U.S. orbital launches in 2014. ULA launches deployed payloads for the military and civil government. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) awarded ULA three contracts in 2013, in which ULA would provide ## launch vehicle booster cores from 2013 through 2017.
2014 – Russia Launch, Human
In 2014, Russia operated the only crewed vehicle currently serving the ISS, and it is expected to retain that monopoly through 2017, when the first flights of the new NASA-supported commercially developed vehicles are slated to begin. Russia’s current crewed spacecraft is the Soyuz, a vehicle that made its first flight in 1967 and has been upgraded several times in the ensuing decades. Advances in construction techniques and computer technology have resulted in a craft that is more maneuverable, lighter, and has a greater carrying capacity than earlier versions.
2014 – U.S. Launch, Human
Since 2011, the year the Space Shuttle was retired, the United States has not been able to launch astronauts aboard U.S. vehicles. To send U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA has relied on contracts with the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, buying seats every year on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Rising seat prices and political developments in Ukraine increased pressure on NASA to provide indigenously manufactured spacecraft quickly.
Orbital
It is relatively simple to place a satellite into orbit when compared with launching humans to space. Humans have more complex needs, such as breathable air, food, staying warm, staying cool, and protection from the space environment. Humans must also be able to return safely to Earth from thei… Thank you for visiting The Space…
2014 – Annual Launch Activity Overview
Launch vehicles vary in size, configuration, and capability. One primary distinction lies in the capability of a launcher to insert an object in an orbital or suborbital trajectory. Suborbital vehicles carry their payloads outside of Earth’s atmosphere, but they do not accelerate to the velocit… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide…
2014 – Spaceports Overview
Space launch vehicles and their payloads are prepared and subsequently launched or deployed from facilities called spaceports. The scale of spaceports varies widely, whether measuring the area they cover or the activities they host.