Introduction to Space Exploration - Worldwide Launches

The Space Age introduced a new area of commerce to the world's entrepreneurs. Most of this commerce involves placement of commercial telecommunication satellites into orbit around earth. Companies have yet to develop their own launch capabilities. They rely on national space agencies (such as NASA) to put commercial satellites into space. This has been a booming business since space travel became possible.

NASA tracks the number of spacecraft launches conducted worldwide each year. Figure 1.3 shows the figures for 1998 through 2003. The United States and Russia accounted for 79 percent of all launches. Only these two countries and China operate human space exploration programs. However, relatively few launches are conducted to support these programs. The vast majority of launches FIGURE 1.2
Space-based navigation system take place to put unmanned commercial, science, and military satellites into Earth orbit. The science missions are largely devoted to earth science, studying Earth's weather, climate patterns, atmospheric conditions, etc. Military satellites perform reconnaissance (spying) from space or support the communication and navigation needs of armed forces around the world.