China
A Growing Ecosystem: The SmallSat Economy
Between 2011 and 2021, commercial business in the global space industry experienced profound changes in the small satellite (SmallSat) sector. In less than 10 years, an ecosystem expanded, catering to commercial SmallSat operators. The sector . . .
Despite Pandemic, Double-digit Growth in 2020 in Some Commercial Sectors
Commercial space activity, undertaken by private industry with little or no government investment, accounts for more than 79.8% of the global space economy. Despite the global pandemic, commercial space revenues continue to . . .
Global Space Economy Climbs Despite Pandemic, Disrupted Government Spending
The global space economy reached a new high of nearly $447 billion in 2020, an increase of 4.4% from a revised 2019 figure of $428 billion. The 2020 figure is 50% greater than a decade ago, and 176% greater than . . .
Global Space Economy Climbs Despite Turbulent Year, Disrupted Government Spending
Introduction | International successes in space, such as the Hope, Perseverance and the Zhurong missions to Mars, don’t happen without years of advance government spending. In 2020, as nations struggled… Launches and New Vehicle Debuts Climbed in 2020, But So Did the Failure Rate
The global launch pace set in 2020 tied as the highest in decades, but with that came an increase in risk and a shift in the major players. Of the 114 attempts last year, 10 did not succeed—an 8.8% failure rate that is 1.8 times higher than the 40-year average and nearly five times higher than the 2018 failure rate, which also had 114 launches. Two factors that correlate with launch failures area higher number of orbital launch attempts . . .
Economy Insights: Mergers and Acquisitions
Share price performance of our core satellite and space index, which includes 27 publicly traded space companies, was up . . .
Infrastructure: Spacecraft/Satellites Overview
Spacecraft deployment numbers rose by five in 2019, increasing slightly to 466 spacecraft deployments last year. While deployments moved up, space vehicle launch attempts decreased from 114 in 2018 to 103 in 2019. The difference between. . .
Workforce: Space Workforce
The space industry relies on tens of thousands of highly skilled workers to design, build, and operate advanced technologies that enable space activities and research that increases our understanding of the space environment.
As Orbiting Debris Increases, New Technologies Emerge for Tracking, Capturing
As Space Debris Piles Up and Satellite Deployments Grow, Calls for Space Tracking Mount
Relative to the vastness of space, the near collision was frighteningly close. On Jan. 29, 2020, a decommissioned U.S. space telescope and a U.S. experimental payload were hurtling toward each other over Pittsburgh.
Infrastructure: Orbital Launch Vehicle Overview
2019 Orbital Space Launch Activity Launch vehicle activities, despite the colloquialisms about rocket science, are routine enough that, on average, two launches occurred per week last year. Seven countries attempted…