2014
2014 – GLONASS
Russia launched ## GLONASS satellites in 2014, maintaining a constellation of ## operational satellites. Russia also faced some challenges with GLONASS during 2014. On April 1, GLONASS satellites transmitted messages that reported the satellites’ positions with an error of around 200 kilometers (124 miles). The problem was resolved after about 11 hours, and although the outage did not seem to have major negative impacts on businesses relying on PNT services, some organizations are learning from the problems GLONASS faced and are moving toward systems using more than one PNT constellation.
2014 – GPS
The number of U.S. GPS satellites remained relatively unchanged from 2013, with ## orbiting the Earth. The composition of GPS satellite generations within the constellation changed, as the United States launched ## new GPS IIF satellites during 2014. Nearly a third of the current GPS constellation consists of the newer GPS IIF satellites. In October 2014, a Combined Launch Schedule Review Board (CLSRB) determined that the launches of GPS III satellites would be postponed from 2015 until 2017. The decision to delay the GPS III satellite upgrade took into account the good health of the current GPS constellation.
2014 – China Space Stations
Observers noted that China’s Tiangong-1, the only other space station besides the ISS currently in orbit, remained in place in 2014. China was expected to de-orbit Tiangong-1 two years after it launched in September 2011. No crews were launched to the uninhabited module during 2014.
2014 – ISS
NASA spent $74.4 billion on the International Space Station (ISS) from the launch of the first Russian Zarya module in 1998 until the end of 2013. Nearly half of that amount was spent on space shuttle ISS construction and resupply flights.
2014 – Suborbital Payload Launch
Development of suborbital reusable launch vehicles and related technologies continued in 2014. The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted integration and qualification activities for all systems of its Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), a re-entry vehicle that will demonstrate technologies and systems ESA intends to use in future autonomous re-entry missions.
2014 – U.S. Suborbital
Private companies are developing suborbital reusable launch vehicles as well. Virgin Galactic flight-tested its SpaceShipTwo crewed suborbital vehicle in 2014. The second of the year’s powered test flights of SpaceShipTwo ended in a crash, with the vehicle breaking up mid-flight and killing one pilot. In spite of the tragedy, Virgin Galactic’s ## customers remain committed to their reservations for a flight aboard SpaceShipTwo, with tickets costing $## per seat.
2014 – Other Countries, Launch, Payload
After one of its Zenit-3SL rockets suffered a launch failure in 2013, Sea Launch recovered in 2014. Sea Launch successfully launched a ## satellite into GTO in May 2014 after implementing recommended corrective actions in response to the 2013 accident.
2014 – India Launch, Payload
India conducted ## orbital launch attempts in 2014, all of which were successful. The vehicle used for ## of the launches was the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which deployed ## PNT satellites into inclined geosynchronous orbits, and ## French imagery satellite into polar orbit. The ## launch, which carried a communications satellite into geostationary orbit, used India’s bigger Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
2014 – Japan Launch, Payload
Japan successfully conducted ## orbital launches in 2014, placing a variety of payloads into orbit for domestic customers. Japan’s launch rate continues its climb from a low of ## in 2012 and ## in 2013. For all of the launches in 2014, Japan’s vehicle of choice was the H-IIA, launching out of Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
2014 – Europe Launch, Payload
Europe conducted ## orbital launch attempts in 2014, all of which were successful. Europe’s Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle carried most of the payloads, which deployed positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites as well as the fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Georges Lemaitre, carrying cargo and fuel to the ISS.