Commercial Space Industry Launches a New Phase
Abstract
Rockets, satellites, and the services they provide, once the domain of governments, are increasingly launched and managed by privately owned companies. Until 1982, the U.S. government launched all civil and commercial payloads into orbit, and U.S. launch vehicle manufacturers produced vehicles only under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Department of Defense (DOD). Most of the satellites they carried into orbit were owned by U.S. or foreign government agencies. Now, commercial payloads are generally launched by private providers, and the payloads themselves are increasingly likely to be owned by private entities: Of the 576 U.S.-owned satellites currently in orbit, 286 were launched for commercial reasons and another 12 on behalf of academic users.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 12, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1170026
Entities
People
- Bill Canis
Organizations
- Library of Congress