Infrastructure

Launch


2008 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts

From the launch of the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, through the end of 2008, approximately ## orbital launches have occurred.  These missions carried some ten thousand satellites, experiments, probes, landers, and other spacecraft on trajectories ranging from Earth orbit to missions beyond our solar system.

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2008 – Other Countries, Launch, Human

In 2006, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced plans to develop a human-rated version of its proposed GSLV Mark 3 vehicle. The vehicle, whose maiden launch is proposed for 2015, would be capable of carrying a crew capsule to LEO. Additionally, in January 2007, ISRO successfully launched and retrieved the Space Recovery Experiment, the nation’s first recoverable spacecraft, demonstrating the reentry and recovery technologies required for a future human-rated spacecraft.

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2008 – China Launch, Human

In 2003, China became the third nation to achieve orbital human spaceflight. The Long March 2F vehicle and its Shenzhou capsule are similar in design and function to the Soyuz rocket and capsule configuration. In October 2008, China launched Shenzhou 7, whose three-person crew performed the first Chinese extra vehicular activity, or spacewalk. In 2006, the Chinese government updated its China’s Space Activities white paper, which lists potential activities of follow-on Shenzhou missions. These include testing docking procedures, with the eventual objective of creating a space station.

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2008 – Russia Launch, Human

Russia’s Soyuz is the most frequently launched human-rated vehicle. The Soyuz typically performs five to six missions per year at regular intervals to ferry crew and cargo to the ISS. In the period between retirement of the Space Shuttle and introduction of a new U.S. human-rated launch system, the Soyuz is expected to be the only vehicle able to transport crew members to the space station. Since 2001, the Soyuz has also been used six times to transport private spaceflight participants to and from the ISS under a partnership with the space exploration company, Space Adventures.

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2008 – U.S. Launch, Human

NASA plans to retire the Space Shuttle in 2010, though the agency has considered extending the vehicle’s life to support continued operation of the ISS. ## shuttle missions took place in 2008, all devoted to ISS assembly.

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2008 – Russian Spaceports – Snapshot

Founded in 1955 by the Soviet Union, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the world’s oldest and largest spaceport. It supports several generations of Russian spacecraft: Soyuz, Molniya, Proton, Tsyklon, Dnepr, and the Zenit. Baikonur’s storied history dates back to the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, the event that set in motion the Cold War “space race.”

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2008 – U.S. Spaceports – Snapshot

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) lies on the Atlantic shore of Florida, almost directly east of Orlando, and adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The spaceport supports a mix of government civil, military, and commercial launches. Primary users of CCAFS include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA, and private launch service providers.

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2008 – Spaceports – Snapshot

Spaceports operate around the world, offering different capabilities and scales of operation. Some spaceports consist of little more than a basic control center, transportation infrastructure, and launch platform. Others are more elaborate, with facilities for payload processing and integration as well as state-of-the-art mission operation centers. 

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2007 – ICBMs and SLBMs

Long-range missiles travel through space, reaching apogees of 950-1100 kilometers, or about five times the altitude of what is generally considered the threshold of low Earth orbit. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) are intended to carry a warhead, typically nuclear, as a payload on a suborbital ballistic trajectory. In the United States, ICBMs fall under the purview of U.S. Air Force Space Command. Funding for their maintenance and operation falls within the major force program for DoD space spending.

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2007 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts

The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) and the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) prepare an annual forecast of global demand for commercial launch services. COMSTAC is a group of senior executives from space transportation, satellite, and government organizations.

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