2014
2014 – Land Imaging
Collectively, land-imaging satellites are systems used to observe, monitor, and track changes and developments on the Earth’s surface using a variety of optical or electronic imaging capabilities. Earth observation satellites may be distinguished from each other on the basis of spatial resolution—the level of detail their images are capable of recording. Another distinction is the sensor type, such as optical cameras, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), or various types of infrared and electronic imaging.
2014 – Satellite Orbits
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a total of 1,235 satellites were active at the end of 2014. These satellites are mostly located in low Earth orbit (LEO) between 200 and 2,000 kilometers (124–1,242 miles) of altitude. LEO is home to 655 active satellites, or 53% of the total.
Space Technology Hall of Fame and Space Certification – 2014 Inductees
Every year, the Space Foundation recognizes space technologies applied to products and services in interesting and useful ways. Many products and services are nominated, but only two are inducted into the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame annually.
2014 – Space Insurance
Infrastructure support industries include services such as space insurance and space-related research and development. The global space insurance industry saw continued profitability in 2014, although not to the same extent as in recent years. Space insurance premiums at the end of 2014 were estimated to total $## million, against which $## million in claims were filed. The countries with the greatest number of launches were also the ones who faced a few costly accidents. The Antares launch failure and destruction of its Cygnus capsule was said to cost only about $## million in insurance losses.
2014 – Commercial Human Spaceflight
Since 2011, NASA has relied on contracts with the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, to send American astronauts to the ISS. The price for each seat on a Russian capsule rose to $## million in 2014, up $# million from 2013. NASA had earlier decided that the milestone-driven Commercial Crew Program, based in part on the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program, would help speed the goal of advancing development of a commercially operated crew transportation system capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS. In November 2013, NASA issued the final Request for Proposals for Phase 2 of the Commercial Crew Program, called the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract.
2014 – Ground Stations and Receivers
Ground stations and equipment are terrestrial infrastructure used by people on Earth to command and control satellites and satellite payloads; send, receive, and distribute satellite data and communications; and monitor satellite health. Ground stations and equipment make up the biggest part of the commercial infrastructure and support industries sector, with ##% of the market in 2014.
2014 – Space Stations
The ISS partner nations have agreed to support regular resupply and personnel transport missions through 2020, while the United States plans to extend use of the ISS until at least 2024. For fiscal year (FY) 2014, NASA spent $## billion on ISS operations, $## million more than FY 2013 actual spending of $## billion. Construction of the $## billion ISS occurred over 14 years, relying on more than ## rocket and shuttle launches to complete. Extension beyond its planned retirement in 2020 is expected to expand the amount of research that can be performed.
2014 – Satellite Manufacturing
Aboard the ## rockets that attempted a launch in 2014, there were ## spacecraft. Contributing to this very high number, ## of the spacecraft were nanosatellites weighing less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds), a type of satellite whose numbers have skyrocketed in very recent years. The increase of such light spacecraft activity is mostly related to the growing popularity of cubesats, a subcategory of nanosatellites based on a minimalist and open-source design proposed in 1999 by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University.
2014 – Launch Industry
Attempted orbital launches increased from ## in 2013 to ## for 2014. Of these ## launches, ## successfully placed their primary payloads into orbit. There were ## launch attempts for commercial payloads and the other ## were for government payloads. Eurospace, the European space industry association, estimates that the global market value for orbital launches in 2014 was $## billion, ##% higher than the 2013 value of $## billion.
2014 – Earth Observation
Earth observation (EO), remote sensing (RS), and satellite imagery services constituted ## of the nearly ## satellites successfully launched and deployed during 2014. The most recent estimate provided by consulting firm Northern Sky Research (NSR) showed EO service revenues climbing to an estimated $## billion in 2013. Overall growth has slowed, dropping below the CAGR achieved by the EO market from 2007 to 2012. The largest revenue growth occurred in defense and intelligence, but services—including insurance, tourism, and news media applications—grew at the fastest rate. In late 2014, NSR predicted the satellite EO market would grow to $## billion by 2023.