Launch
Human Space Launch
Infrastructure: Spaceports
Spaceport upgrades and new spaceport development are at an all-time high, with 40 active launch sites around the globe, 10 more in development in the United States, Sweden, Australia and Canada, and 13 more proposed in eight countries. . .
2017 – Russia Human Launch – Snapshot
Russia remained the only nation to launch humans to orbit during 2017, using its Soyuz launch vehicle and capsule. The continued depression of Russian launch activity during…
2017 – U.S. Suborbital – Snapshot
Many countries and organizations have floated plans for human suborbital spaceflight. However, there are very few building suborbital launch vehicles for this purpose, and even fewer…
2017 – U.S. Human Launch – Snapshot
The last U.S. human space launch was conducted in 2011. NASA now relies on Russia’s Soyuz space launch system, paying hundreds of millions of dollars to transport U.S. astronauts to…
2015 – China Launch, Human
China’s most recent human mission to space was in June 2013, when three taikonauts docked a capsule with the Tiangong-1 space station. Since then, China has announced plans to launch a second space station, Tiangong-2, to replace Tiangong-1. The Chinese government continued assembling and testing Tiangong-2 in 2015, intending to launch it into orbit sometime in 2016. A subsequent crewed mission, Shenzhou-11, would be launched later in 2016. The crew will dock with the Tiangong-2 and may stay in the space station as long as a month.
2015 – Russia Launch, Human
In 2015, Russia continued to be the only nation flying humans into space since June 2013. The Russian Soyuz capsule was conceived, designed, and first launched nearly five decades prior to 2015. The Soyuz space launch vehicle that boosted the Soyuz capsule into space has an even longer heritage. The first of its family launched as the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile, and a succeeding generation launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite. Capsule and launch vehicle continued to be modified over the years, enabling them to remain in service.
2015 – U.S. Launch, Human
Nearly five years have passed since the United States stepped back from launching humans with its own space vehicles, the last of which flew in July 2011. The country conducts human operations in space on the ISS, contracting the launch of U.S. astronauts through the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos. In August 2015, NASA reserved six seats for 2018 from the Russians for $490 million. NASA’s leadership reported that the contract was necessary due to underfunding of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which reduced NASA’s ability to support private companies developing human space launch capabilities.
2014 – Orbital Human Space Launch
It is relatively simple to place a satellite into orbit when compared with launching humans to space. Humans have more complex needs, such as breathable air, food, staying warm, staying cool, and protection from the space environment. Humans must also be able to return safely to Earth from their trip to space. Over the years, a variety of spacecraft were specifically designed to fulfill these requirements. Rockets, originally designed to return to selected points of the Earth quickly and destructively, began to incorporate changes for human needs and requirements as well. Two nations, the United States and Russia, pioneered the development of space systems to launch humans into space more than half a century ago.
2016 – Orbital Human Space Launch – Snapshot
The 52 years since the inauguration of human spaceflight have witnessed great strides in developing the technology required to support human life in orbit and…
2016 – U.S. Suborbital – Snapshot
The promise of humans routinely traversing space for the purposes of business and pleasure has been around for nearly as long as…