Infrastructure
2008 – Russian Spaceports – Snapshot
Founded in 1955 by the Soviet Union, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the world’s oldest and largest spaceport. It supports several generations of Russian spacecraft: Soyuz, Molniya, Proton, Tsyklon, Dnepr, and the Zenit. Baikonur’s storied history dates back to the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, the event that set in motion the Cold War “space race.”
2008 – U.S. Spaceports – Snapshot
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) lies on the Atlantic shore of Florida, almost directly east of Orlando, and adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The spaceport supports a mix of government civil, military, and commercial launches. Primary users of CCAFS include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA, and private launch service providers.
2008 – Spaceports – Snapshot
Spaceports operate around the world, offering different capabilities and scales of operation. Some spaceports consist of little more than a basic control center, transportation infrastructure, and launch platform. Others are more elaborate, with facilities for payload processing and integration as well as state-of-the-art mission operation centers.
2008 – Land Imaging – Snapshot
In 2008, there were ## remote sensing satellites launched on behalf of ## countries. Of particular note, in August, the German RapidEye constellation of ## remote sensing satellites was launched. The ## RapidEye satellites travel along the same orbital plane and feature identical sensors, allowing large amounts of imagery to be collected, up to ## million square kilometers (## million square miles) per day. ## satellites in the same orbital plane allow for a higher number of multiple imaging passes over the same spot and quick revisit times. With these capabilities, the RapidEye constellation is capable of imaging any point on Earth every day.
2008 – Earth Observation and Remote Sensing – Snapshot
LEO spacecraft are also used to provide images of the Earth for civil, scientific, and military applications. In 2008 the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing reported that there were ## satellites in use or in development for this purpose, operated by ## different countries. The U.S. has been the leader in the commercialization of electro-optical remote sensing technology, but recent years have seen other countries begin to excel in the development of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems.
2008 – Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems – Snapshot
Note: This exhibit is from The Space Report 2009. Please refer to this year’s exhibits for the most current data as numbers may have been revised since this edition was published.
2007 – Communications Satellites Overview
A satellite database compiled by Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) lists 524 active communications satellites in Earth orbit.95 Of these, 241 are in a geostationary orbit while an additional 57 satellites are in geosynchronous orbit with an orbital inclination greater than 1 degree.2Anal… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space…
2007 – Probes
There are ## scientific satellites in orbit around Earth, as designated by the AGI satellite database. This number may vary slightly by source, as some satellites may be alternatively classified as either “scientific” or “remote sensing.”
2007 – Landers/Rovers
Surface systems include all systems that operate on the surface of an asteroid, comet, or planet other than Earth, for instance, NASA’s Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The planned 90-day mission for these vehicles has lasted for 45 months, greatly increasing scientific knowledge of Mars.
2007 – IRNSS
In 2006, India announced the Indian Regional Navigation System (IRNSS), joining the ranks of countries with plans for indigenous navigation systems. IRNSS is to be a ##-satellite geostationary and geosynchronous system developed over the next six to seven years.