China
Launch records topple in 2024 with busiest January of space age
![A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 starlink satellites launches from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Jan. 7, 2024.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Falcon-9-1-150x150.jpg)
![A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 starlink satellites launches from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Jan. 7, 2024.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Falcon-9-1-1024x683.jpg)
Averaging a liftoff every 33 hours and 49 minutes, January’s 22 successful launches to space marked the busiest start to a year since the Space Age dawned in 1957, and put the globe on track for 259 launches in 2024, which would easily eclipse records set in 2023, according to a Space Foundation database.
Launch Attempts by Country and Category, 2023
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The United States launched 11 military missions in the year, including payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office and a new generation of small communications satellites for the Space Development Agency. Russia launched 10 civil government missions in 2023, including Soyuz launches to send crews to the International Space Station, which remains one area of cooperation between the Kremlin and NASA. India made headlines with its successful launch of a lunar probe while the European Space Agency, awaiting its new Ariane-6 launch vehicle, launched three spacecraft including its Euclid space observatory.
Launch Attempts by Select Nations, 2022-2023
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The record number of launches came despite delays that pushed the debuts of several long-anticipated launch vehicles into 2024. It was the third consecutive year to shatter launch records, despite a decline in European and Russian launches.
Spacecraft Deployments Grew 23% in 2023 Despite Broadband Cooldown
![dia’s first successful lunar lander, Chandrayaan-3, sits in a facility before launch. Even though commercial satellites made up the majority of deployments in 2023, civil government payloads increased most rapidly, growing 74% year-over-year. Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.39.37-AM-150x150.png)
![dia’s first successful lunar lander, Chandrayaan-3, sits in a facility before launch. Even though commercial satellites made up the majority of deployments in 2023, civil government payloads increased most rapidly, growing 74% year-over-year. Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.39.37-AM.png)
With record launches for the third year running, it’s no surprise that the number of payloads reaching orbit is also skyrocketing. Spacecraft deployed in 2023 grew 23% to 2,891, bringing approximately 1.4 million kg of equipment to space.
Up to 14 Large Rockets and Tiny Competitors Are Poised for Launch in 2024
![ULA’s Vulcan has completed a series of tests ahead of a planned January flight.” with the launch now successful, change to “ULA’s Vulcan completed a series of tests ahead of its successful January flight. Credit: ULA](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.30.59-AM-150x150.png)
![ULA’s Vulcan has completed a series of tests ahead of a planned January flight.” with the launch now successful, change to “ULA’s Vulcan completed a series of tests ahead of its successful January flight. Credit: ULA](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.30.59-AM.png)
Space leaders in 2023 pondered a lack of launch vehicles to lift anticipated swarms of satellites to orbit. But 2024 could bring relief.
Led by Sharp Uptick in Commercial Demand and U.S. Space Launches, All-time Records Topple for Attempts and Successful Space Flights in 2023
![A Soyuz rocket lifts off in one of Russia’s 19 launches of 2023. Russia maintained its third-place rank among spacefaring nations. Credit: Roscosmos](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.25.07-AM-150x150.png)
![A Soyuz rocket lifts off in one of Russia’s 19 launches of 2023. Russia maintained its third-place rank among spacefaring nations. Credit: Roscosmos](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-18-at-9.25.07-AM.png)
In what was the busiest year of the Space Age, 2023 set records with 223 launch attempts and 212 successful launches. A sharp uptick in commercial space launches drove much of the increase, with the highest number of launches coming from the United States.
Astronaut and Mission Count for Top Nations
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Public astronauts typically complete multiple missions in space over their careers — 65% have two or more flights compared to only 9% of private space travelers. Retired NASA astronaut Frederick “CJ” Sturckow remains the only person to have visited space eight times.
SNAPSHOT: Human Spaceflight
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From the early days of the space race, sending humans to space has always been a key priority. The International Space Station (ISS) has maintained a continuous human presence in orbit for more than 20 years, and microgravity research on space stations has provided valuable insight for future long-term human missions in space.
In 22nd Launch of 2023, China lofts national record of 26 satellites to orbit
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China on June 7 lofted a national record of 26 satellites to orbit in a single launch atop its Lijian-1 launch vehicle, a solid-fueled rocket developed for commercial use by the Chinese Academy of Science.
Active Launch Vehicle Operators by Type, 2000-2022
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Orbital launch attempts have more than tripled since a lull in activity in the early 2000s bottomed out at 55 attempts in 2004. Part of the rapid growth in the past few years is due to a sharp increase in launch vehicle operators after a long period with an average just shy of 10 distinct operators per year.