2022
Space Force Guardians, FY2022 and FY 2023
The Space Force, which falls under the Department of the Air Force, employed 13,716 Guardians and civilian workers at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, an increase of 34.7%
Top 3 commercial space sectors, 2015-2022
Commercial revenues continue to make up the majority (78%) of the global space economy. The top three commercial space sectors — ground stations, direct-to-home television, and position, navigation, and timing — totaled $373 billion in 2022.
Space spending by region, 2022
Cape Canaveral customer mission share 2014–2023
Launches from Cape Canaveral were military-focused for the first few years, with civil missions not far behind.
Satellites lost by launch operator country and type, 2003-2023
Despite the rising number of lost payloads, satellite operators are getting better at mitigating the harm done to their mission by a launch failure.
Launch service launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg 2014-2023
Launches from the Cape and Vandenberg have increased primarily due to one launch service provider: SpaceX.
Average payload mass 2012-2023
Satellites shrank from an average 4,725 pounds in 2012 to 1,100 pounds last year.
Japanese Government Space Spending, 2013-2023
Japan’s space spending spans seven ministries and totaled ¥612 billion (UD$4.3 billion) in 2023. This budget has grown 68% since 2020 as the nation expands its civil and military space programs. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) — which houses JAXA — typically receives the majority of space-related funding.
Launch Attempts and Deployed Payloads, 1983-2022
Two items stand out as primary examples of astronomers’ concerns: the SpaceX Starlink constellation due to its number of satellites and AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite due to its size — 693 square feet6 — which ranks as the largest commercial communications array in space.
Launch Failure Rate 2019-2023
The frenetic pace of launch in 2023 also brought a higher number of launch failures, with 11 rockets failing to make orbit, of them in spectacular fashion.