2017
2017 – Galileo – Snapshot
Europe’s expansion of its Galileo PNT constellation slowed a little during 2017, when nine clocks aboard some of the satellites failed. Clocks are critical to . . .
2017 – Chinese Spaceports – Snapshot
In 2017, China continued using its four spaceports for orbital launches: Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Wenchang, and Xichang. The spaceports were involved in a total of . . .
2017 – Russian Spaceports – Snapshot
During 2017, Russia continued operating three orbital launch spaceports within its territory: Dombarovskiy, Plesetsk, and Vostochny. A fourth spaceport, Baikonur Cosmodrome, is Russia’s . . .
2017 – U.S. Spaceports – Snapshot
During 2017, five spaceports were used by U.S. orbital launch operators: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida; Kennedy Space Center (KSC) . . .
2017 – BeiDou – Snapshot
In 2017, China continued expanding its BeiDou constellation, the nation’s space-based PNT system. Launching two BeiDou satellites, the nation’s share increased to . . .
2017 – Spaceports – Snapshot
Given the 91 orbital launch attempts worldwide, it is clear that spaceports were busy in 2017. This activity was distributed across 25 active spaceports. In 2016, spaceports in the . . .
2017 – Military Satellites – Snapshot
National security drives national efforts to acquire and operate military satellites. While there some exceptions, most military satellites have very similar capabilities as their commercial…
2017 – European Cooperative Organization and Government Space Budgets – Snapshot
Civil government spending on space programs and activities in Europe comes from four sources…
2017 – Surface Imaging – Snapshot
Surface imaging satellites observe, monitor, and track changes and developments on the Earth’s surface using a variety of optical or electronic imaging capabilities. EO satellites…
2017 – U.S. Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
In 2016, private industry space companies in the United States employed 128,163 professionals. This is 1.6% fewer than in 2015 . . .