Which country is dominating space?

The space race began during the Cold War and from the beginning the Soviet Union dominated the number of devices and objects launched into space. But just in the past few years, the US has won that title thanks to the outstanding growth of SpaceX founded by Elon Musk.

What objects are launched into space?

1. Satellite
2. Crew
3. Probe
4. Space Station
5. Explorer ship

Explorers help scientists explore other planets. Satellites provide us with essential daily needs such as cell phone services, television signals, GPS, etc.

According to Orbiting Now, a website specializing in tracking and monitoring the activities of satellites in orbit, as of March 7, there were 9,585 active satellites in Earth's orbit, of which about 72% are satellites. Small satellites are satellites with a smaller weight and size than traditional satellites, with a maximum mass of only about 1.2 tons.

The Earth's orbit is covered by many satellites, including those that have stopped working (Illustration: Pinterest).

In the 1990s, only 34% of satellites launched into Earth orbit were small satellites, but by the 2020s, this number increased to 94%, showing the trend of small satellites becoming increasingly popular. globally thanks to its advantages.

In particular, small satellites mainly operate in low Earth orbit (LEO - Low Earth Orbit), while large satellites mainly operate in geostationary orbit (GEO - Geosynchronous Earth Orbit).

Specifically, about 12% of satellites are operating in geostationary orbit, 84% of satellites are operating in low Earth orbit, and only 3% of satellites are operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO - Medium Earth Orbit). 1% of satellites are operating in higher orbits.

This is because low Earth orbit is more accessible and has certain advantages for small satellites, such as faster signal transmission speeds, so satellites operate on LEO are primarily satellites that provide telecommunications and communications services.

Top 10 countries with the largest number of space objects

The truth here is that not all of these countries have the ability to launch satellites into orbit, meaning that although a satellite in space may belong to a certain country, it does not meaning it was launched by that country. For example, the first French satellite was launched in Algeria in 1965.

According to Orbiting Now, there are currently 105 countries registered to operate satellites in Earth orbit. Among them, the 10 countries and organizations with the most satellites include:

1. 1. US: 4511
2. 2. China: 586
3. 3. UK: 561
4. 4. Russia: 177
5. 5. Japan: 90
6. 6. India: 62
7. 7. Canada: 56
8. 8. Germany: 48
9. 9. Luxembourg: 45
10. 10. Argentina: 38