The United States, with SpaceX, is well ahead in rocket launches in 2023

The country carried out 107 orbital flights last year, of which 96 were carried out by the private company. China is gaining momentum, with 67 launches.

The United States, thanks to SpaceX, has once again crushed the global market for space launchers, carrying out 107 orbital flights in 2023, far ahead of other countries in this strategic sector. Elon Musk’s firm alone launched its Falcon 9 rocket 96 times during the year, almost at the rate of two per week, mainly to continue the deployment of its Starlink internet satellite constellation.

SpaceX also fired its Falcon Heavy, placing the X-37B military space drone into orbit, and carried out two tests, which ended in explosions, of its Starship super heavy launcher. This must be used to land astronauts again on the Moon during the Artemis missions. “For next year we want to increase the number of flights to around 12 flights per month, or 144 flights [pour toute l’année]“SpaceX vice-president Bill Gerstenmaier said during a hearing before the US Senate in October.

A rise of China

Faced with American domination, China is rapidly developing its space activity and has carried out 67 launches in 2023, compared to 64 in 2022, according to the specialized media Spacenews. For its last launch of the year, Friday, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Casc) announced on its website that it had carried out 47 launches for its Long March rocket range alone in 2023.

Russia has fired its Soyuz rocket 19 times, including 17 times, mainly satellites for its government and military needs as well as Progress vessels destined for the International Space Station (ISS), according to the specialist site Gunter’s Space Page. The Electron rocket from the American-New Zealand company Rocket Lab, one of the rare operational mini-launchers, was fired nine times. India comes next, with the space agency Isro, which carried out seven launches during the year of its GSLV, PSLV and SSLV rockets.

Europe, in the midst of a launcher crisis, has only carried out three launches in 2023: the last two Ariane 5 and a Vega rocket. Europeans hope to regain autonomous access to space with the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, scheduled between June 15 and the end of July, and the return to flight of Vega-C at the end of the year, after an accident which has grounded it since the end of 2022. Japan also carried out three launches in 2023, including a failure for its new H-3 heavy launcher. The Japanese space agency, Jaxa, announced on Thursday a new attempt on February 15.