Earth orbit is increasingly crowded with thousands of satellites from private and public operators. How many are spinning above our heads? What are their missions ? Which countries have the most? What are their size and altitude? Find all the figures thanks to this infographic.
According to the UCS Association (Union of Concerned Scientists), 2,063 operational satellites were in orbit around the Earth as of 1er April 2019. The oldest still in operation is an American amateur satellite, Amsat-Oscar 7 (AO-7), launched on November 15, 1974. The rate of launches has accelerated sharply in recent years, with 378 satellites launched in 2017 and 375 satellites in 2018. Please note: this is not the number of rockets, as multiple launches have become the norm. On February 15, 2017, India broke a record with 104 satellites in a single shot.
Country and size of satellites
This proliferation is linked to two phenomena: on the one hand, more and more countries are interested in space. Angola launched its first satellite in 2017, intended to provide communication services (radio, televisionvoice) andInternet high debit over the African continent and part of Europe. On the other hand, satellites are becoming miniaturized with the appearance of CubeSats and others nanosatellites no bigger than a shoebox.
Use of satellites
Of the 2,063 satellites in Earth orbit, 38% (788) are dedicated toearth observation (climate studyfrom precipitation, surveillance, etc.) and 37% (773) to communication services. Next come satellites for scientific or technological purposes in communication or defense (263) and those used for global or regional navigation (138). We even see the appearance of more and more unusual projectslike works of art or startups offering to send your ashes into the sky when you die.
Satellite orbit
64% of satellites (1,325) are sent into low orbit (LEO), located between 500 and 2,000 kilometers above sea level. This proximity allows a very short latency time and less energy at launch. It is used in particular for telecommunications systems, terrestrial imaging or meteorology. 27% of the satellites (554) navigate in a geostationary orbit, at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, which is used in particular for communication services such as television, the satellite remaining at all times above the same point. The medium orbit, located between 2,000 and 36,000 kilometers, is used for navigation satellites such as the GPS.
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