The Ill-Defined Space Spacecraft Deployment Summary: 2024
This is a summary report of 2024 spacecraft deployments by the numbers. Analyses will come in later newsletters. Most of the data referenced in this summary will be available here: https://www.illdefined.space/2024-global-space-activity-dashboards/.
Whether counting launches or spacecraft deployments, 2024 was a record-setting year. As with the launches conducted in 2024, one company was responsible for the record-breaking spacecraft deployments: SpaceX. However, a few companies from China have begun larger deployments for constellations with satellites that could eventually number in the thousands. Also, fewer spacecraft were deployed in 2024 than in 2023, and fewer nations deployed them.
Deployments from Around the World
Space operators deployed an estimated 2,807 spacecraft in 2024, ~1.5% less than the 2,850 deployed in 2023. Organizations and companies from 39 nations deployed and operated those spacecraft, down ~28% from 54 in 2023. However, the total estimated mass of the spacecraft they deployed grew from 1,440,300 kg to 1,846,700 kg, a 28% increase.
While operators from 39 nations deployed spacecraft, those from seven nations deployed more than nine spacecraft in 2024: the United States, China, Russia, France, Japan, Mongolia, and Italy. As with the launch numbers, SpaceX’s spacecraft deployments dominate (~71% of ALL deployed in 2024), so much so that they obscure the activities of other spacecraft operators. If Starlink deployments are excluded (treemap below), a remaining estimated 819 spacecraft were deployed, about 7% less than the 877 deployed in 2023.
U.S. Spacecraft Deployments: 2,256
There were 53 U.S. spacecraft operators in 2024, the same number as in 2023. They deployed about 2,256 spacecraft in 2024, ~80% of the world’s spacecraft during that period. U.S. spacecraft operators deployed an average of 189 spacecraft each month, nearly nine times the monthly deployments from China’s spacecraft operators. Four of the 53 operators deployed about 95% of all U.S. spacecraft. They were SpaceX, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Planet, and NASA. The remainder of this section will summarize the activities of those four space operators.
SpaceX deployed the most spacecraft of the four space operators in 2024, ~1,988, two more than in 2023, giving the company ~88% share of U.S.-deployed spacecraft. Starlink internet relay satellites comprised nearly all the company’s deployments in 2024 (over 99%). SpaceX also deployed several transportation capsules–four for passengers and two for cargo.
The NRO deployed 110 satellites in 2024, an increase from the four satellites it deployed in 2023. Its 2024 deployments gave it a ~5% share of all U.S. spacecraft deployments. The NRO has provided no details about the latest batch of its 108 Starshield-based satellites other than they can “...track targets on the ground and share that data with U.S. intelligence and military officials…”
Planet deployed 37 satellites (~2%) in 2024, ~50 less than the 73 the company deployed in 2023. The company primarily deployed Superdove cubesats and one of its newest satellite designs–Tanager. All were remote-sensing satellites that observe the Earth and provide imagery.
In 2024, NASA’s 21 spacecraft deployments outpaced its 2023 deployments of 9. NASA deployed nearly 1% of all U.S. spacecraft in 2024. While its deployment share is small compared to the other three operators, the space agency occasionally deploys larger spacecraft, such as NASA did with Europa Clipper or PACE in 2024.
The remaining 49 spacecraft operators deployed 100 spacecraft in 2024. The total mass of U.S. spacecraft deployments in 2024 was an estimated ~1,535,000 kg, about 83% of the mass deployed by the world’s spacecraft operators.
China Spacecraft Deployments: 257
In 2024, 39 spacecraft operators in China (as in 2023) deployed 257 spacecraft, about 9% of all deployments. Operators in China deployed an average of ~22 spacecraft per month in 2024. Four space operators took about 47% of all Chinese spacecraft deployments: Genesat, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), GeeSpace, and Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology. The first two are state-owned organizations, while the last two are commercial companies.
Genesat deployed the most spacecraft of China’s space operators in 2024–54. Its Qianfan internet relay satellites gave the company a nearly 21% share of China’s spacecraft deployments. The PLA’s 30 (12%) spacecraft deployments in 2024 are slightly less than the 34 in 2023. About 93% of the PLA’s 2024 spacecraft were probably remote sensing satellites (for example, optical, radar, and radio frequency monitoring), with the remaining two being BeiDou satellites deployed for navigation.
GeeSpace’s 21 commercial small satellites gave the company an 8% share of all 2024 spacecraft deployments from China. The company’s satellite constellation is one of the few that deviates from the traditional startup mousetraps of remote sensing or communications. Instead, GeeSpace’s (a Geely Technology Group subsidiary) satellites will provide a combination of positioning and support communications to its parent company, Geely, automobiles, and automobile subsidiaries (Lotus, Smart, and Volvo, for example).
In 2024, Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace Technology deployed 17 commercial Yunyao smallsats, representing nearly 7% of China’s spacecraft deployments. The Yunyao satellites provide weather data from infrared GNSS-RO (Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation) payloads.
In 2024, 135 spacecraft were deployed by the remaining 35 Chinese spacecraft operators. The total estimated mass of all Chinese spacecraft deployments during 2024 was ~140,000 kg, ~8% of global deployments.
Russia Spacecraft Deployments: 85
Russian spacecraft operators deployed 85 spacecraft in 2024, giving them a 3% share of the world’s deployed spacecraft that year. Russia’s 18 spacecraft operators deployed an average of seven spacecraft each month in 2024. Three spacecraft operators deployed 73% of all Russian spacecraft in 2024: Sitronics Group, Roscosmos, and the Russian Defense Ministry. The first is a commercial company, while the others are government-run.
Sitronics Group, a Sputnix subsidiary, deployed 45 commercial cubesats for ship tracking services in 2024, giving it a 53% share of all Russian spacecraft deployments that year. Roscosmos deployed 10 spacecraft (12%), six for passenger and cargo transportation to the International Space Station (ISS). The nation’s military deployed seven (8%) spacecraft in 2024, primarily for remote sensing missions.
The remaining 23 spacecraft deployments were split among the other 15 Russian spacecraft operators. Russian spacecraft operators' total mass of all spacecraft deployments was an estimated 75,000 kg, about 4% of deployments worldwide.
France Spacecraft Deployments: 43
France's six satellite operators deployed 43 satellites in 2024, about 1.5% of that year’s global spacecraft deployments. They deployed an average of 3.6 satellites per month. Three of France’s satellite operators, Eutelsat/OneWeb, Kineis, and Unseenlabs, deployed ~96% of the nation’s satellites in 2024. All are commercial satellite operators.
Eutelsat/OneWeb deployed 21 satellites in 2024, 47% of the satellites deployed by French operators that year. Twenty were smallsats for the spaceborne internet relay communications service OneWeb, and one was for Eutelsat’s geosynchronous communications constellation. Internet of Things (IoT) communications service Kineis deployed 15 (~33%) smallsats in 2024. Unseenlabs deployed four (~9%) radio frequency monitoring remote sensing smallsats.
The remaining three French spacecraft operators each deployed one satellite in 2024. The total mass of all French satellites deployed during 2024 was an estimated 8,500 kg, or ~0.5% of all spacecraft deployments globally.
Japan Spacecraft Deployments: 14
Japan’s spacecraft operators deployed 14 satellites, 0.5% of the worldwide total in 2024. The nine operators deployed an average of ~1.2% per month. Four operators deployed ~64% of Japan’s spacecraft that year: Synspective, Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, JAXA, and iQPS. The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center and JAXA are government-run, while the other two conduct commercial operations.
Synspective deployed three radar remote sensing satellites for Earth observation, about 21% of Japan’s 2024 deployments. iQPS deployed two radar remote sensing Earth-observing satellites, while the Cabinet deployed one radar and one optical remote sensing Earth observation satellite. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) deployed one mass simulator and a radar remote-sensing satellite. The Cabinet, iQPS, and JAXA each took about a 14% share of 2024 satellite deployments in Japan.
The remaining five Japanese satellite operators deployed the other five satellites in 2024. The total estimated mass of all Japanese satellites deployed during 2024 was ~15,455 kg, nearly 1% of the world’s spacecraft deployments that year.
Mongolia Spacecraft Deployments: 12
Only one Mongolian satellite operator deployed satellites in 2024: Ondo Space. Its 12 commercial smallsats accounted for nearly 0.5% of global spacecraft deployments. The company’s communications smallsats provide Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.
The estimated mass of Ondo Space’s satellites deployed in 2024 was 10.8 kg, ~0.0006% of that year’s total spacecraft deployments.
Italy Spacecraft Deployments: 11
Two satellite operators deployed 11 satellites, garnering a 0.4% share of the world’s spacecraft deployments. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) deployed 10 smallsats, nine of which were for IoT communications (the tenth was a technology demonstrator). Commercial company D-Orbit deployed one satellite.
The estimated mass of all Italian satellites deployed in 2024 was ~144 kg, 0.008% of the world’s spacecraft deployments that year.
Spacecraft operators from the remaining 32 nations deployed the remaining 126 spacecraft in 2024. For more details, please reference the 2024 Global Space Activity Dashboard.
As noted earlier in this summary, the intent is only to provide spacecraft deployment numbers. In later newsletters, I’ll give cursory analyses of both summaries, their numbers, related hidden data, and trends.
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