China
2013 – Bigelow Space Stations
In addition to the ISS and Chinese space station, a private U.S. company and Russia are planning on launching their own space stations. Both projects are still in the planning stages, utilizing technology and experience derived from their predecessors.
2013 – China Launch, Payload
China’s launch rate in 2013 fell by ##% compared to the previous two years, when China set a national record for number of orbital launches. Of China’s ## orbital launch attempts in 2013, ## were successful and deployed a variety of military, civil, and crewed spacecraft.
2013 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts
2013 was a fairly typical year for the global orbital launch industry, with ## launch attempts—slightly higher than the 2009–2013 average of ##. Of the ## orbital launch attempts in 2013, ## were successful. A launch is considered successful if its payload is deployed in an orbit that allows it to successfully complete its mission.
2013 – China Launch, Human
China continued steady development of its crewed space program in 2013 with the launch of the Shenzhou 10 mission. Shenzhou 10 carried three taikonauts into LEO and docked with the Tiangong-1 space station prototype, where taikonauts spent two weeks conducting experiments and practicing docking maneuvers between the two craft. This was the longest Chinese space mission, and it also featured the second female taikonaut. At this stage in its space program, China is developing the techniques and technologies necessary for a more permanent presence in space, and hopes to begin construction of a multi-module space station by the end of the decade.
2013 – Workforce
Trends in the global space workforce continue to be mixed, with the U.S. space workforce contracting for the sixth year in a row while space workforces in Japan and Europe saw further increases.
Infrastructure: Space Infrastructure – TSR 2013
Economy: Space Economy – TSR 2013
2012 – Doctoral Degrees Awarded
Considering the number of doctoral degrees earned in science and engineering, the European Union has the greatest proportion.
2012 – Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems
Note: This exhibit is from The Space Report 2013. Please refer to this year’s exhibits for the most current data as numbers may have been revised since this edition was published.
2012 – Emerging Technologies
While space has many practical applications that are already making real differences in people’s daily lives, many more research activities are still in the early stages of development. Depending on their maturity and complexity, the practical uses of these research avenues are not always well understood or guaranteed.