Interactive Tables and Charts
Astronaut and Mission Count for Top Nations
Public astronauts typically complete multiple missions in space over their careers — 65% have two or more flights compared to only 9% of private space travelers. Retired NASA astronaut Frederick “CJ” Sturckow remains the only person to have visited space eight times.
Astronauts by Mission Count
In more recent years, commercial spaceflight operators have led another wave of new activity, this time targeting private astronauts and tourists primarily taking suborbital trips to space.
6-Month Average Employment Growth, H1 2021-H1 2023
Compared to the total labor market, space industry job growth appears to be speeding up again despite similar initial slowdowns, according to data from the first half of this year.
India Department of Space Employment, 2012-2022
India has traditionally maintained a large government workforce relative to its private space workforce. However, in recent years, the Indian government has been working to grow its commercial space sector.
JAXA Workforce, 2013-2023
Japan is continuing its efforts to promote the growth of new entrepreneurial space efforts. Proposed legislation in Japan would allow JAXA to create a fund to invest in private-sector businesses.
Japanese Space Workforce, 2011-2021
Japan saw growth across all three of these sectors in the past year, with the largest growth, 12.8%, in software.
European Space Industry Employment, 2012-2022
Eurospace collects data through an annual survey of nearly 500 space organizations in Europe. Its analysis focuses on manufacturing of space systems, including launchers, spacecraft, and ground segments.
Space Workforce Trends in the United States, Europe, Japan, and India
The United States, Europe, and Japan have all seen net growth in their space workforce over the past decade, with steady increases in Europe, and more varied trends in the United States and Japan.
Commercial Human Spaceflight, 2018-2022
Commercial human spaceflight revenues were estimated at $0.5 billion in 2022, which is reflected in this chart on human spaceflight.
Lunar-focused Company Performance
The two new lunar-focused companies that entered the market in the first half of 2023, Intuitive Machines and ispace, are showing a relative degree of stability in their share prices after some initial volatility in the early days.