SpaceX has been dominating the worldwide spacecraft launch industry by a significant margin, according to recent statistics. During the first quarter of the year, SpaceX launched an impressive 525 out of the world’s 626 spacecraft, leaving competitors far behind. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. followed with 27 spacecraft, and Russia’s Roscosmos with 24 spacecraft.
In terms of weight, SpaceX also outshined its competitors by launching spacecraft weighing approximately 429,125 kilograms, compared to CASC’s 29,426 kilograms and Roscosmos’ 23,782 kilograms during the same period.
Phil Smith, an analyst at BryceTech, commented on the statistics, noting that the dominance of SpaceX in the industry comes as no surprise. He highlighted that SpaceX leads the pack, followed by China and then a host of other entities.
BryceTech, an analytics firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, compiled the first-quarter data on spacecraft launches. The firm provides valuable industry insights to the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
Florida has witnessed a flurry of orbital launches this year, with 45 launches already taking place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX has been the major player in these launches, accounting for 43 out of the 45, while United Launch Alliance handled the remaining two.
Smith praised SpaceX’s remarkable progress in the industry, recalling a time not long ago when launching 10 times in a year was considered impressive. He attributed SpaceX’s high launch frequency to the ongoing Starlink deployment.
Last week, Starlink officials announced the availability of their high-speed internet network in Sierra Leone, marking the 100th country, territory, or market served by the network. Currently, there are 6,079 Starlink satellites orbiting in low-Earth orbit, with plans to deploy a total of 12,000 satellites in the approved constellation, eventually aiming for 40,000 satellites.
In a breakdown of ‘smallsats’ launched last year, BryceTech reported a total of 2,860 satellites weighing 1,200 kilograms or less. The majority of these satellites were communications satellites, comprising 79% of the total, with remote sensing satellites accounting for 13%.
