Browse Resources by Year

2016 – Meteorology – Snapshot

For all of the importance placed on meteorological satellites, they made up a very small part of the ## Earth observation/remote sensing satellites placed in Earth’s orbit during 2016. With a total of ## satellites, ## meteorological-focused satellites were launched or deployed in 2016 than in 2015, during which ## of the satellites with this core mission were deployed. The…

2016 – Indian Space Employment – Snapshot

In India, a significant amount of space activity takes place within the Department of Space, which includes the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its government-owned commercial…

2016 – Surface Imaging – Snapshot

The majority of Earth observation satellites launched in 2016 were ##. Only ## of the ## Earth observation satellites had a launch mass of ### kilograms (### pounds) or more. The number of Earth observation satellites with a mass between ## and ## kilograms (##–## pounds) launched in 2016 was ##. Together, the Earth…

2016 – U.S. Spaceports – Snapshot

Three spaceports conducted orbital launch operations from the United States in 2016: Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). CCAFS…

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 – Military Satellites – Snapshot

Military satellites—spacecraft acquired, launched, and operated by a nation’s military forces—share many of the same mission types used in commercial and civilian applications. Communications, remote sensing, positioning, navigation, and timing…

2016 – Satellite Orbits – Snapshot

As in previous years, the most used orbit type is low Earth orbit (LEO). In 2016, 80% of the 219 spacecraft launched or deployed around the Earth were inserted into LEO. The effective range of this type of . . .

2016 – Annual Infrastructure – Snapshot

Launching people and satellites into orbit, providing directions to tourists, and warning residents on the Pacific Rim of an impending hurricane…all of these activities require infrastructure, the spine of an industry. A bigger space infrastructure can support more activity, such as the number of orbital launches conducted annually. A flexible infrastructure can rapidly adapt to growth or unexpected changes, such as the increased demand for launch services.

2016 – Space Insurance – Snapshot

Space insurance premiums in 2016 amounted to $## million, their ## level since 2001. The year’s claims, including both launch failures and incidents involving satellites in…

2016 – Russian Spaceports – Snapshot

## are the ## operational orbital launch spaceports within Russian territory. However, the busiest Russian orbital launch spaceport continued to be…