Infrastructure
Rocket Lab launches NASA solar sail test, South Korean observation satellite
![A graphic of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/solar-sail-150x150.png)
![A graphic of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/solar-sail.png)
Rocket Lab launched two satellites on April 24. One is an Earth observation satellites for a Korea university and the other is a solar sail technology demonstration.
As launch failures grow, satellite operators are more resilient to risk
![Rocket Lab launched the final pair of TROPICS satellites for NASA on May 26, 2023, after the first two were lost in an Astra rocket failure. Even with this setback, NASA was able to begin mission operations for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season after launching the remaining four satellites in the constellation. Credit: Rocket Lab](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rocket-Lab-launched-the-final-pair-of-TROPICS-satellites-for-NASA-150x150.png)
![Rocket Lab launched the final pair of TROPICS satellites for NASA on May 26, 2023, after the first two were lost in an Astra rocket failure. Even with this setback, NASA was able to begin mission operations for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season after launching the remaining four satellites in the constellation. Credit: Rocket Lab](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rocket-Lab-launched-the-final-pair-of-TROPICS-satellites-for-NASA.png)
Increasing annual launches and new players in the launch market have led to several notable payload delivery failures over the past few years.
2 U.S. spaceports gain funds amid huge upswing in launch pace
![A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket lifts off at Vandenberg Space Force Base in September. The mission carried the Space Development Agency’s second round of satellites.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/A-SpaceX-Falcon-9-rocket-lifts-off-at-Vandenberg-Space-Force-Base-150x150.png)
![A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket lifts off at Vandenberg Space Force Base in September. The mission carried the Space Development Agency’s second round of satellites.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/A-SpaceX-Falcon-9-rocket-lifts-off-at-Vandenberg-Space-Force-Base.png)
In the last decade, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (the Cape) in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California have supported more launches than other U.S. launch facilities.
2020s is the busiest decade for Moon landings in 50 years
![The Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander captured this image from the surface of the Moon during its approach to the landing site. Credit: Intuitive Machines](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Intuitive-Machines-Odysseus-lander-captured-this-image-from-the-surface-of-the-Moon-during-its-approach-to-the-landing-site.--150x150.png)
![The Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander captured this image from the surface of the Moon during its approach to the landing site. Credit: Intuitive Machines](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Intuitive-Machines-Odysseus-lander-captured-this-image-from-the-surface-of-the-Moon-during-its-approach-to-the-landing-site.-.png)
In the span of six months from 2023 to 2024, three countries landed spacecraft on the Moon, and many more are in the works.
SNAPSHOT: New launch vehicles
![](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-launch-vehicles-150x150.png)
![](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-launch-vehicles.png)
The launches included successful maiden flights for three new launch vehicles. With a dozen more new launch vehicles expected to debut, 2024 appears poised to be a game-changing year in orbital flight.
SNAPSHOT: Human spaceflight
![Cumulative human spaceflight, 1961–March 18, 2024](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cumulative-human-spaceflight-1961–March-18-2024-150x150.png)
![Cumulative human spaceflight, 1961–March 18, 2024](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cumulative-human-spaceflight-1961–March-18-2024.png)
As of mid-March, 685 astronauts have reached at least 80 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. This total includes 86 private astronauts, 22 times as many as there were two decades ago.
Commercial offerings continue to grow, shape future of space
![](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Starlink-satellites-sent-a-text-message-directly-to-a-mobile-phone-150x150.png)
![](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Starlink-satellites-sent-a-text-message-directly-to-a-mobile-phone.png)
After Russian ASAT leak, superpowers back away from showdown
![Growing threats from anti-satellite weapons were spotlighted in February when U.S. officials warned Congress about a Russian weapons development program targeting spacecraft with nuclear weapons.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/U.S.-leaders-have-feared-attacks-to-key-satellites-e1710348635756-150x150.png)
![Growing threats from anti-satellite weapons were spotlighted in February when U.S. officials warned Congress about a Russian weapons development program targeting spacecraft with nuclear weapons.](https://www.thespacereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/U.S.-leaders-have-feared-attacks-to-key-satellites-e1710348635756.png)
Growing threats from anti-satellite weapons were spotlighted in February when U.S. officials warned Congress about a Russian weapons development program targeting spacecraft with nuclear weapons.
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.
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.