2017
2017 – GLONASS – Snapshot
Russia’s share of operational PNT satellites increased from 21% in 2016 to 26% in 2017. Operating the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the nation was tied with . . .
2017 – QZSS – Snapshot
After seven years of single-satellite operations for the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), Japan’s PNT constellation, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched . . .
2017 – Navigation with Indian Constellation – Snapshot
India completed the first part of a two-phase plan during 2016, fielding a constellation of seven Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) PNT satellites. The constellation was . . .
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…