3.0 Space Infrastructure

The third section of The Space Report 2013 provides an overview of the infrastructure associated with space and recent advancements made in these areas. It provides a detailed overview of launch activity in 2012, including both the number of government and commercial launches and the payload mass. It covers developments regarding space stations, satellites, ground stations, spaceports and scientific systems.

There were 78 launch attempts in 2012, a decrease of 7 percent from the 84 launches in 2011 (but higher than the 2010 total of 74). Russia completed the highest number of launches, at 24; China had 19 launches; and the U.S. totaled 13 launches. For the second year running, the Chinese launch rate was greater than the U.S. rate. The United States led in terms of launch vehicle diversity, however, with ten types of orbital rockets launched throughout the year.

In addition to the usual coverage of the elements that constitute existing infrastructure, The Space Report 2013 includes expanded content on remote sensing satellites and science spacecraft.