Browse Resources by Country

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.

2015 – Satellite Radio

While multiple satellite radio companies have been started over the past decade, the only one currently operating is Sirius XM, based in the United States. Sirius XM had $4.57 billion in revenue in 2015.

2015 – Satellite Television

Satellites in geostationary orbit are capable of broadcasting signals over very large areas, making them ideal for distribution of television and radio signals around the world. Digital TV Research Limited, a market research firm, estimated that global satellite television revenues would overtake global cable television revenues in 2015. Satellite television is the largest contributor to the commercial space products and services category, making up 77% of this sector.