Launch
Payload 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. . .
Suborbital Payload Launch
Suborbital launch activity continued throughout 2017. For many nations and a few organizations, suborbital launches are an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to gain…
2017 – U.S. Payload Launch – Snapshot
The U.S. share of global orbital launch activities continued to grow, from 26% in 2016 to 33% in 2017. In 2017, the nation’s launch service providers. . .
2017 – Sounding Rockets – Snapshot
NASA’s Sounding Rockets Program Office (SRPO) uses sounding rockets as training tools for engineers and scientists, as well as for educating future engineers and scientists. The program provides . . .
2017 – Suborbital Payload Launch – Snapshot
Compared to suborbital payload launch activities the previous year, 2017 was a relatively quiet year. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) continued work with its…
2017 – Iran launches Simorgh – Snapshot
In 2017, Iran was the only other nation to attempt an orbital launch. Iran conducted a single test launch of . . .
2017 – Europe Payload Launch – Snapshot
European launch activities in 2017 accounted for 11 SLV launch attempts, the same rate as the previous two years. Although launch numbers remained the same . . .
2017 – Russia Payload Launch – Snapshot
In 2017, Russia conducted 21% of global orbital launch attempts, a negligible increase from 20% in 2016. While its share of launch activities remained almost static, the country’s . . .
2017 – China Payload Launch – Snapshot
China’s share of global orbital launch activity fell from its 2016 high of 26% to 20% for 2017. The nation’s 18 launch attempts moved it down in global launch activity ranking from . . .
2017 – India Payload Launch – Snapshot
India’s global orbital launch activity share and launch rate both declined in 2017. The number of launch attempts by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) fell to . . .