Russia
2011 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts Snapshot
Orbital launch activity increased by ##% in 2011, rising to ## launches from a total of ## in 2010. Continuing a trend that began in 2004, Russia was the nation that conducted the most launches, with a total of ##. China followed with a total of ## launches, conducting ## more ## than the United States.
2011 – Russia Launch, Human Snapshot
Russia’s ambitious plans to develop a new human-rated rocket system to eventually replace the Soyuz came to an official halt in October when Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, announced its decision to cancel the development of the Rus-M rocket. Originally planned to have its first flight in 2015, the rocket was to launch primarily from the new Russian launch facility of Vostochny in eastern Siberia. Launching from Vostochny would have relieved Russia of the need to rely on its Baikonur spaceport, which is leased to Russia by Kazakhstan and currently provides the only launch facilities for crewed Soyuz rockets.
2011 – ISS – Snapshot
The ISS provides a unique platform for humans where long-term scientific research and experiments can occur. The ISS is a project involving the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 ESA member states. It is a research facility in LEO that can host a permanent crew of up to six people in its current configuration.
2011 – Satellite Overview – Snapshot
Telecommunications technology has made the world a much more intimate place. This is in no small part due to satellites circling the globe providing communications, scientific research, broadcasting, navigation, imagery, and support for national defense efforts. The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 and served to demonstrate that man-made objects can reach and maintain a simple orbit. This small craft with limited instrumentation did little more than measure the density of the upper atmosphere and provide information on how radio waves propagate through the ionosphere.
2011 – Iran, Sea Launch – Snapshot
Two other space programs made news in 2011, as space newcomer Iran successfully conducted ## launch and the multinational commercial venture Sea Launch resumed operations after a hiatus of nearly two and a half years.
2011 – Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems
Note: This exhibit is from The Space Report 2012.
2011 – Russia’s Launch Efforts – Snapshot
Russia entered 2011 in the midst of an investigation into the loss of a Proton rocket carrying three Russian government navigation satellites in December 2010. Russian space officials scrambled to determine the cause of the loss, which was eventually determined to be the over-fueling of an upper stage. Problems continued to arise in 2011, leading to the loss of ## launch vehicles and the Phobos-Grunt mission to Mars. Nevertheless, Russia maintained its place as the world’s most-frequent launch provider with ## launches.
2011 – Military Satellite Overview Snapshot
The national defense needs of many countries help to drive demand for satellite capacity. Armed forces and international peacekeeping organizations from across the globe lease capacity from various commercial satellite operators or acquire Earth imagery services from commercial companies. Military forces are also building more of their own dedicated satellites due to increased capacity demands and the need for secure connectivity for deployed troops.
2011 – Chinese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Responsibility for Chinese space activities is shared by several agencies, including the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which operates the country’s human spaceflight program and its launch centers. The structure and organization of the Chinese space program, and the delineation between civil and military aspects, is not transparent. This, along with the involvement of the PLA in operational space aspects, makes obtaining credible data on the Chinese national space budget difficult. One way to estimate Chinese space spending is by comparing China to its peers.
2011- Land Imaging – Snapshot
Two major players in satellite-based Earth imagery are U.S. companies DigitalGlobe and GeoEye. Both companies provide imagery to widely used applications such as Google Earth. In August 2010, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded 10-year contracts to the companies, valued at $## billion for GeoEye and $## billion for DigitalGlobe, under the agency’s EnhancedView procurement. The NGA specializes in mapping and imagery intelligence, and played a key role in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 by providing satellite imagery, geospatial and targeting analysis, and modeling support to plan the successful mission.