Global Orbital

Space Launches
Q3 2023

Orbital Launches by Launch Provider

In Q3, SpaceX had the most orbital launches, followed by CASC

26
12
5
4
3
2
National Aerospace

1
Development Administration
(North Korea)

Spacecraft Launched by Provider

In Q3, SpaceX launched 519 spacecraft, the most of any launch provider

Space Exploration Technologies

(SpaceX) 519
China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corporation (CASC) 24

Galactic Energy 15
Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) 11

ExPace 9

Rocket Lab 9
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 4
(MHI) Launch Services 3

Roscosmos 4 2

United Launch Alliance (ULA) 1

Arianespace 1
Northrop Grumman Space
Systems 1

Firefly Aerospace 1
Iranian Revolutionary Guards
Air Force 1
Korean Committee of Space 0 1 2 3
Technology
LandSpace

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Number of Spacecraft Launched

Includes spacecraft launched regardless of operational status

Spacecraft Upmass Carried by Launch

Provider
SpaceX launched about 381,278 kg of spacecraft upmass in Q3,
followed by CASC with about 24,560 kg

Space Exploration Technologies

(SpaceX) 381,278

China Aerospace Science and

Technology Corporation (CASC) 24,560

Roscosmos 17,475

Northrop Grumman Space

Systems
8,051

Arianespace 6,950

United Launch Alliance (ULA) 6,000

Indian Space Research

Organization (ISRO) 5,817

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 3,050

(MHI) Launch Services
1,280
Galactic Energy
425
ExPace 416

Rocket Lab 250

200
Korean Committee of Space
Technology 10

Firefly Aerospace 1
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500
Iranian Revolutionary Guards
Air Force

LandSpace

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000

Total Spacecraft Upmass (kg)

*Includes estimates of spacecraft mass when not publicly disclosed

Orbital Launches by Country

U.S. providers conducted 32 launches, while Chinese providers
conducted 20 launches

Russia
1
20 1 1
32 1
France
China North Japan
3
USA Korea
Iran

India

*Rocket Lab is headquartered in the U.S. with a subsidiary in New Zealand. It is counted here as a U.S. company

Spacecraft by Service Type

Driven by continued deployment of the Starlink constellation, most
spacecraft launched in Q3 were communications satellites

<1% Scientific
2% Other
1% Crew and Cargo Transport
7% Remote Sensing

2% Technology Development

605 88% Communications

spacecraft
launched in Q3

Spacecraft Launched and Total Upmass

by Mass Class
Smallsats represented 29% of spacecraft launched in Q3, 9% of total
upmass
each <1% <1%
2% 1%

each 2% Mass Class (kg)

7% 8% 8% Femto (.01-.09)

Pico (.1-1)
27%
Nano (1.1-10) Smallsats
5%
19% Micro (11-200)
605 238,697
455,762 kg Mini (201-600)
spacecraft total upmass
kg spacecraft
launched in Q3 in Q3in Q2 49% Small (601-1,200)
upmass
8% Medium (1,201-2,500)
68% Intermediate (2,501-4,200)

Large (4,201-5,400)
9%
73% Heavy (5,401-7,000)

Extra Heavy (7,000+)

Starlink v2.0 Mini satellites with a mass of ~800 kg began deploying in Q3.

Spacecraft by Operator Type

Most spacecraft launched in Q3 are operated by commercial companies

543 36 4 22
Commercial
Government: National Security
Non-Profit/Academia
Government: Civil