2022
INFOGRAPHIC Artemis I
CNES Space Spending by Type, 2005-2021
Including defense spending and contributions to third parties such as ESA, France’s total space spending in 2021 was the fourth-largest in the world behind the U.S., China, and Japan.
Expenditures by program are not available yet for 2022 but launch vehicle development tends to be the largest portion of CNES’ budget. From 2017 to 2021, the Ariane program composed an average of 32% of the agency’s non-ESA expenditures.
Space Force Budget by Category, 2021-2023
In recent years, space has reestablished itself as an important component of defense strategy alongside the establishment of the Space Force and large budget increases for space programs. The Space Force received $1.7 billion more than originally requested for fiscal year 2023, resulting in $7.1 billion (39%) more than the enacted 2022 budget.
Per Nation Mass Share of an Estimated 973,000 KG, 2022
Operators deployed ~421 spacecraft with a mass of 200 kg or less, 18% of all deployed spacecraft in 2022. SpaceX’s Starlink satellites comprised over half the spacecraft mass deployed in 2022. The company’s Starlink deployments added up to 518,523 kg, nearly double the 257,140 kg it deployed in 2021. The largest spacecraft deployed during 2022 was Lockheed Martin’s Orion space capsule (25,848 kg), deployed during NASA’s first Artemis/Space Launch System launch.
Spacecraft Deployed Per Mass Range, 2022
Mass estimates of all spacecraft deployed during 2022 exclude many of China’s spacecraft deployments and all U.S. classified spacecraft. However, without the mass totals from those two spacecraft operators, the overall spacecraft mass deployed during 2022 is estimated to be ~961,200 kilograms(kg), averaging ~415 kg per deployed spacecraft.
EO-RS Payload Shares, 2022
Satellites deployed with EO/RS payloads in 2022 (265) exceeded EO/RS satellite deployments in 2021 (191). More than half of the EO/RS payloads (149) involved optical imagery collection system. Other EO/RS satellites hosted payloads that detect radio waves emanating from the Earth. Satellites with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payloads made up about 11% (24) of EO/RS satellite deployments in 2022,
Shares of Major Communications Payload, 2022
U.S. company SpaceX Starlink deployed 1,689 satellites, a 71% increase from the 989 satellites it deployed in 2021. On the other hand, OneWeb, a U.K. company, deployed 110 satellites, less than half the number it deployed the previous year (284). Also falling under the communications category were satellites with Internet of Things (IoT) payloads. Operators deployed 84 IoT satellites in 2022. Also under the communications category were the 27 satellites hosting ship-tracking payloads deployed in 2022.
Spacecraft Payload Share, 2022
The 2,354 spacecraft deployed during 2022 each contained at least one payload to fulfill mission requirements. The Space Report separates those payloads into four categories: communications; EO/RS; position, navigation, and timing (PNT); and space transportation.
Spacecraft Mission Segment Shares by Nation, 2022
Compared with 2021’s 90% commercial spacecraft deployment share, 2022’s increased to 91%, even as spacecraft deployed in 2022 grew by 36% over the previous year. Spacecraft with civil government mission payloads accounted for 107 (4.5%) of all spacecraft deployed in 2022, slightly higher than 2021’s 99 civil government spacecraft deployments. Military missions comprised the remaining 3.5% (80) of the world’s deployed spacecraft in 2022, higher than the 69 military spacecraft deployments in 2021.
Estimated U.S. Department of Defense Space Spending, 2005-2022
This developing space strategy is reflected in growing military space spending by the United States, with the Pentagon more than doubling space budgets from $19.7 billion in 2005 to an estimated $41.4 billion in 2022.