An orbital class rocket is a rocket that is able to launch payloads into an orbit around the Earth, or further.
Orbital rockets are commonly used in order to launch artificial satellites, or, to conduct human space missions.
As shown in figure 1, the number of orbital launches per year has varied greatly since their inception. The first orbital launches were apart of ‘the space race’ between the USA and the USSR during the cold war, where both countries were attempting to assert their global dominance through a variety of mediums.
During the space race, which started in 1957, both countries were attempting to achieve many ‘firsts’ for humankind. Including, but not limited to: launching the first artificial satellite, putting the first person in space, and putting the first person on the moon.
Again looking at figure one, we can see that after the end of the space race, in 1977 the number of orbital launches decreases significantly, but has had a significant upturn in since 2010. This presentation aims to explore the reasons for these changes.
Figure 2 shows the country in which orbital rockets were launches during the space race. It is important to note that Russia and Kazakhstan were both part of the USSR during this time period. From this we can clearly see that the USA and the USSR were the main launchers of orbital rockets. For further analysis on the space race we will only be looking at the USA and the USSR.
Figure 3 shows the total number of launches, and the proportion of public and privately owned launch companies, during the space race era. We can see a clear difference in approach between the USSR and the USA, with the USSR only using government owned companies, and the USA using a 50/50 split of government and private sector launch companies.
Figure 4 shows the total number of launches, and the proportion of public and privately owned launch companies, during the middle period. We see that there are now more countries launching rockets, and that they behave in different ways. Some countries such as the USA, France, and Japan, are focused on private launches, whereas the rest are mainly focused on public sector approaches.
Figure 5 shows the total number of launches, and the proportion of public and privately owned launch companies, during the private overtake period. The USSR has significantly decreased their launches, while the USA has increased theirs.
Figure 6 shows the total number of launches, and the proportion of public and privately owned launch companies, during the private recent upturn period. Private launches still have a majority, but new countries are enering the frey, mostly by using government funded rockets.
Overall, in the slideshow, I have shown how different countries have prioritised different methods for launching rockets, and how these patterns are changing over time.
Kaggle.com. 2022. All Space Missions from 1957. [online] Available at: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/agirlcoding/all-space-missions-from-1957 [Accessed 8 June 2022].