Introduction:
Space is an expansive subject with lots of unknowns. The only thing we know for sure about space is we don't know how big it is, what's beyond it, and how much universal nothingness there is. Nonetheless, there are still a lot of questions about the universe: how big it is, where it came from, and how to see if an alien civilization exists out there. Some of this can be answered by observing the sky — but not all at once (unlike what you'd imagine). In this article, I'll explain how many space launches happen every year, which countries launch most often, which companies have been involved in recent space exploration and why we even care about satellites floating around up there.
How many spaces launches a year?
The number of space launches is increasing on a yearly basis. In the past two years, we have seen an average of around 44 launches a year. This is an increase from the annual average of 37 launches in the past decade. A record number of space companies are taking interest in launching satellites into orbit. The launch industry has become more competitive than ever before and has enabled many companies to participate in this growing market. Satellites have become extremely popular with consumers because they allow companies to provide services such as internet access and mobile phone coverage at a lower cost compared to traditional terrestrial infrastructure.
The number of space launches has increased dramatically in recent decades, from a few dozen in the 1970s to more than 100 today. While the majority of these launches are for satellites, there are also a number of manned spaceflights and scientific missions that have been launched into space. The U.S. currently has six active launch facilities: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Wallops Island Airport in Virginia (a NASA facility), Kodiak Island Airport in Alaska (a NASA facility), White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico (a military facility) and Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (a NASA facility). Europe has two launch facilities: French Guiana and Kourou in French Guiana.
The United States has launched 31 space launches in 2018, including the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched a satellite into orbit on Thursday. The launch of the Falcon 9 was the first since a failed landing attempt in January. The vehicle successfully delivered payloads to orbit and landed back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida after completing its mission. The U.S. military is expected to launch an Atlas V rocket on Friday, carrying a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, or NRO. The NRO also launched an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 14 with another spy satellite for the NRO called NROL-47. On Saturday, NASA will launch an uncrewed Dragon cargo ship on its first test flight under an agreement with commercial space company SpaceX that began last year when NASA retired its only supply line for astronauts traveling to and from the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX also is working on developing a reusable booster system called "BFR" that could potentially allow it to reuse rockets instead of spending thousands of dollars each time they are expendable, which would reduce costs significantly and make access more affordable to other countries that don’t have their own.
Conclusion:
The number of launches happening every year all over the world is what really stands out above all else. With this many rockets taking off from all these different sites, it does beg the question: why don't we have a bigger problem with space debris? The fact is, most countries are taking steps to launch responsibly, and most of the launches happening are for putting satellites into orbit around earth. And as for that one rogue object that seems to be zooming toward earth at an uncomfortably fast speed? It's highly unlikely that it will impact us anytime soon, let alone at all.