China
Checking the Oil Levels
One small startup company, Ursa Space Systems, uses data from space based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems to inform those interested in the oil market. The satellites fly... One small…
2017 – Chinese Spaceports – Snapshot
In 2017, China continued using its four spaceports for orbital launches: Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Wenchang, and Xichang. The spaceports were involved in a total of 18 launch attempts. Jiuquan and Xichang…
2017 – BeiDou – Snapshot
In 2017, China continued expanding its BeiDou constellation, the nation’s space-based PNT system. Launching two BeiDou satellites, the nation’s share increased to 26% of all PNT satellites. The 25 Chinese…
2017 – Military Satellites – Snapshot
National security drives national efforts to acquire and operate military satellites. While there some exceptions, most military satellites have very similar capabilities as their commercial counterparts, but hardening, extreme reliability,…
2017 – China Space Station – Snapshot
During 2016, China launched its latest space station, Tiangong-2. Chinese taikonauts lived aboard the new space station for 30 days before returning to Earth during the same year. In 2017,…
2017 – Meteorology – Snapshot
Only three satellites with a dedicated meteorological focus were deployed during 2017—less than 1% of 443 spacecraft deployed during that year. It was also a drop from the number of…
2017 – Chinese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The Chinese space budget is not publicly available. However, Chinese capabilities and space projects provide indicators for informed estimates of the nation’s space budget. The nation likely spends at least…
2017 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
In 2017, there were 91 launch attempts, 85 of which were successful. Launches procured by commercial satellite operators accounted for 26 of the attempts, and 25 of the successes –making…
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…
2017 – Communications Satellites – Snapshot
Aggregate revenues in the satellite communications industry have been relatively static over recent years, even as specific markets grew or declined. The 92 communications satellites deployed in 2017 constituted a…