Infrastructure
2010 – China Space Stations – Snapshot
China is developing its own space station as the next phase of its human spaceflight program. The first module for this station was completed in 2010, with China planning to launch it in 2011. The module, Tiangong-1 (Chinese for “Heavenly Palace”), is undergoing testing and will be launched on a Chinese Long March 2F rocket.
2010 – Military Reconnaissance – Snapshot
In June 2010, Israel launched the OFEQ-9 reconnaissance satellite which joined ## others already in operation. China’s utilization of space for military purposes is even harder to gauge due to the country’s lack of transparency in its space programs. In 2010, the country launched ## Yaogan satellites with the stated purpose of engaging in scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment, and disaster monitoring. Many space analysts believe that the true mission of these satellites is for reconnaissance or other military purposes.
2010 – International Space Station (ISS) – Snapshot
The ISS is a joint project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 of ESA’s member states to build and operate a research facility in LEO that can host crews of up to six people. Assembly of the ISS in space began in 1998.
2010 – U.S. Military X-37B – Snapshot
An unmanned U.S. Air Force space plane, the X-37B, was launched in April 2010 aboard an Atlas V rocket. The X-37B remained in orbit for ## days, testing its capabilities and conducting a variety of experiments on behalf of the Air Force. Some international observers expressed concerns that the secrecy shrouding this vehicle could be interpreted by other nations as evidence that the U.S. was developing a space-based weapon. Other space technology experts believe the most likely mission of the X-37B is reconnaissance, given its ability to land, change payloads, and alter its orbit more rapidly than a LEO satellite.
2010 – Military Satellite Overview – Snapshot
One classification of satellite is based not just on the spacecraft’s capabilities. Military satellites are generally characterized by the end users they are built to serve, not the type of service provided. Although they may perform the same functions as their non-defense counterparts, such as communication or remote sensing, they are instead operated by national intelligence or defense personnel. Armed forces from across the globe also rely on leased capacity from commercial satellite operators.
2010 – Satellite Orbits – Snapshot
The closer proximity to the Earth also greatly reduces signal delay from a LEO satellite to ground stations and allows for smaller receivers on the ground. While these attributes are beneficial, these lower orbits are challenging in that these satellites constantly move in and out of view of individual ground receivers. If it is necessary to maintain a continuous link, a fleet of spacecraft is required to form what is called a satellite constellation. LEO is home to communications constellations belonging to mobile satellite services companies such as Iridium and Globalstar.
2010 – Satellite Overview – Snapshot
Most modern satellites are specialized machines designed typically to serve a single specific mission, such as communications, remote sensing, scientific observation, or navigation. While the general trend over the past several decades has been to make larger and more powerful spacecraft, there has also been a growing interest in launching extremely small objects, often measuring no more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) on a side. Such spacecraft, called cubesats, have been developed by many universities and other organizations for scientific experimentation and technology development.
2010 – India’s Launch Efforts – Snapshot
India conducted ## launches in 2010, up from two in 2009. However, ## of the ## in 2010 were unsuccessful. The ## ## used the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to carry into orbit two remote sensing satellites, one of which was Indian and the other Algerian, along with several small technology demonstration craft.
2010 – Japan’s Launch Efforts – Snapshot
Japan conducted ## successful launches of its H-IIA rocket, compared with ## launches in 2009. The Japanese space program was also able to end a launch window restriction at its Tanegashima launch facility, which had limited launches for much of the year.
2010 – Europe Launch Efforts – Snapshot
In 2010, Europe launched ## rockets, as compared to ## in 2009. Although a higher launch rate was planned, along with the debut of the Russian-built Soyuz from the European launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana, the European launch industry experienced a series of setbacks which kept it from meeting these goals.