3,996 of 7,559 satellites in the dataset belong to SpaceX — a single operator accounting for more than half of human spaceflight history by count.
Unique operators
665
Distinct organizations that have placed at least one satellite in orbit.
Top non-SpaceX operator
589sats
Led by OneWeb Satellites.
Years covered
49yrs
From November 15, 1974 to April 27, 2023.
Peak year — 2022
2,113launches
~28% of all-time launches happened in a single calendar year.
Peak day — January 3, 2023
93in one day
The single busiest launch day on record.
Avg. satellites per launch day
6.2
Across 1,222 distinct launch days.
SpaceX era begins
2019
First SpaceX launch in this dataset: May 24, 2019.
Days to overtake all prior history
939days
SpaceX surpassed the entire 1,679-satellite pre-2019 backlog by December 18, 2021.
SpaceX active window
1,434days
From May 24, 2019 to April 27, 2023.
Growth & cadence
2020s vs all prior decades
75%
5,667 of 7,559 satellites were launched in the 2020s alone — more than the previous five decades combined (1,892).
Peak month
305in January 2023
The single busiest calendar month on record.
Days with any launch
6.9%
Only 1,222 of 17,696 days in the timeline saw a launch — spaceflight is far more bursty than continuous.
100th satellite launched
2001
Reached on March 8, 2001.
1,000th satellite launched
2016
Reached on April 27, 2016.
7,000th satellite launched
2023
Reached on February 2, 2023.
Constellations
Starlink share of all satellites
52.9%
3,996 satellites named "Starlink" — a single constellation accounts for more than half of every satellite in the dataset.
Top 5 constellations combined
66.1%
Starlink (3,996) · OneWeb (589) · Dove (Planet) (199) · Lemur (Spire) (135) · Iridium Next (75)
Who's launching
Commercial / non-government
89.7%
6,777 of 7,559 satellites belong to commercial operators rather than militaries or space agencies.
Government & military
782sats
Operated by national space agencies, defense ministries, or armed forces.
Launch sites
Top site — Cape Canaveral
54.4%
4,113 satellites — more launches from a single pad complex than any other site in the dataset.
Distinct launch sites
38
Pads, ranges, air-launch carriers and sea platforms used across the full timeline.
Top 3 sites combined
72.5%
Cape Canaveral (4,113) · Vandenberg AFB (934) · Baikonur Cosmodrome (432) — three sites account for the vast majority of every satellite ever launched.
Launch site
Satellites
Share
Distribution
Cape Canaveral
4,113
54.4%
Vandenberg AFB
934
12.4%
Baikonur Cosmodrome
432
5.7%
Guiana Space Center
366
4.8%
Satish Dhawan Space Centre
284
3.8%
Vostochny Cosmodrome
268
3.5%
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
212
2.8%
Taiyuan Launch Center
207
2.7%
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
187
2.5%
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
141
1.9%
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1
96
1.3%
Tanegashima Space Center
40
0.5%
Dombarovsky Air Base
37
0.5%
Wallops Island Flight Facility
34
0.4%
Wenchang Space Center
28
0.4%
Showing top 15 of 38 sites. Source: "Launch Site" column from the UCS Satellite Database.
Countries — inferred from operator name
Top country — United States
67.0%
5,062 of 7,559 satellites trace back to U.S.-based operators — driven largely by SpaceX's Starlink build-out.
Countries represented
25
Distinct nations identified from operator names (excluding ambiguous / multinational).
Country
Satellites
Share
Distribution
United States
5,062
67.0%
Other / unknown
896
11.9%
United Kingdom
620
8.2%
China
486
6.4%
ESA / Europe
65
0.9%
Japan
62
0.8%
Luxembourg
54
0.7%
France
53
0.7%
India
50
0.7%
Russia
41
0.5%
Germany
31
0.4%
Canada
31
0.4%
Spain
15
0.2%
South Korea
15
0.2%
Argentina
14
0.2%
Brazil
13
0.2%
Italy
13
0.2%
Turkey
9
0.1%
Netherlands
6
0.1%
Australia
5
0.1%
UAE
5
0.1%
Vietnam
4
0.1%
Algeria
4
0.1%
Israel
3
0.0%
Sweden
1
0.0%
Indonesia
1
0.0%
Country is not in the source data; it's inferred by matching keywords in each operator's name. ~12% of satellites fall into "Other / unknown" where the operator name doesn't reveal a country.
Launch vehicles
Top vehicle — Falcon 9
62.6%
4,731 satellites carried to orbit by a single rocket family — more than every other launch vehicle combined.
Distinct launch vehicles
163
Unique rocket models used across the full timeline.
Top 3 vehicles combined
71.4%
Falcon 9 (4,731) · Soyuz-2.1b (475) · PSLV (190) — three rockets account for the vast majority of every payload in the dataset.
Launch vehicle
Satellites
Share
Distribution
Falcon 9
4,731
62.6%
Soyuz-2.1b
475
6.3%
PSLV
190
2.5%
Long March 2D
147
1.9%
Atlas 5
114
1.5%
Electron
102
1.3%
Ariane 5
95
1.3%
Soyuz-2.1a
88
1.2%
Long March 3B
86
1.1%
Long March 2C
79
1.0%
Proton M
73
1.0%
Ariane 5 ECA
71
0.9%
Long March 4C
63
0.8%
Dnepr
61
0.8%
Vega
60
0.8%
Showing top 15 of 163 vehicles. Source: "Launch Vehicle" column from the UCS Satellite Database.