Part 2 Space Organizations: U.S. Military, Foreign, and Private - Space Agencies Around The World

NASA and Rosaviakosmos (the Russian Space Agency) operate the two most active space programs in FIGURE 3.4 Orbiter safety zone "Figure A. Orbiter Safety Zone," in Columbia Accident Investigation Board: Report Volume I, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, August 2003, http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/caib/PDFS/VOL1/PART01.PDF (accessed January 31, 2006)the world. Rosaviakosmos evolved from the great space agency of the former Soviet Union. The Soviet space program achieved many important milestones in robotic and human spaceflight. Other nations with the resources to do so have ventured into space. Some have sent their astronauts aboard U.S., Soviet, or Russian spacecraft. Others have developed their own space vehicles and programs. This has created new opportunities for cooperation and competition among space-faring nations.

Table 3.2 lists the space agencies of various countries around the world. Major programs are described below.