2017
2017 – China Space Station – Snapshot
During 2016, China launched its latest space station, Tiangong-2. Chinese taikonauts lived aboard the new space station for 30 days before returning to…
2017 – Bigelow Space Station – Snapshot
The privately owned Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), launched in 2016, remained attached to the ISS in 2017. NASA originally contracted Bigelow Aerospace to test…
2017 – Meteorology – Snapshot
Only three satellites with a dedicated meteorological focus were deployed during 2017—less than 1% of 443 spacecraft deployed during that year. It was also a drop from the number of meteorology satellites deployed in previous years. In 2016, the number of meteorology satellites . . .
2017 – ISS – Snapshot
The International Space Station (ISS) continued to be an active inhabited space laboratory during 2017. International teams of engineers, researchers, and scientists…
2017 – South Korean Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) had a 2017 budget of 659.3 billion won (US$576.0 million), a decrease of 13% from its 2016 budget of 746.4 billion won (US$646.7 million).
2017 – Japanese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Since 2010, the Japanese government has been increasing the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) supplemental budget and decreasing . . .
2017 – Russian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Economic and political uncertainty in Russia affected funding levels of the Russian space program. Russia allocated 92.5 billion rubles (US$1.5 billion) for space activities . . .
2017 – Indian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Indian space activities are coordinated through the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The ISRO FY 2017-2018 budget, spanning April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, increased 12% over FY 2016-2017, from 80.45 billion rupees (US$1.25 billion) to 91.56 billion rupees (US$1.42 billion).
2017 – Sounding Rockets – Snapshot
NASA’s Sounding Rockets Program Office (SRPO) uses sounding rockets as training tools for engineers and scientists, as well as for educating future engineers and scientists. The program provides . . .
2017 – Suborbital Payload Launch – Snapshot
Compared to suborbital payload launch activities the previous year, 2017 was a relatively quiet year. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) continued work with its…