Results of the space year 2023
In a similar article, which was published a year ago, we wrote that 2022 was more than successful for space agencies and private space companies from different countries. Well, 2023 surpassed the record-breaking figures of 2022 by 18%. In 2023, 212 successful launches were made, compared to 178 in 2022. Impressive progress!
At the same time, 82% of successful launches were made by only two countries – the United States (109) and China (66), with 88% of successful US launches made by one company – SpaceX. Moreover, there was not a single failure among the 96 launches of Falcon launch vehicles (91 Falcon 9 and 5 Falcon Heavy). Fantastic efficiency! No wonder many believe that SpaceX should long ago have been considered a separate space corporate power.
In third place by number of launches is again Russia with the archaic In third place by number of launches is again Russia with the archaic, still Czarist Seven. The share of the “space superpower” continues to decline, in 2023 it amounted to 8.8% of launches (11.9% in 2022) and only 3.8% of the mass of vehicles launched into space. This is the new low of Russian cosmonautics. The share of the “space superpower” continues to decline, in 2023 it amounted to 8.8% of launches (11.9% in 2022) and only 3.8% of the mass of vehicles launched into space. This is the new low of Russian cosmonautics.
In addition, Russia has an ambitious competitor in the fight for third place – India, which made 7 successful launches in 2023 after the usual 1-2 in previous years. India’s space research and development organization is very serious: it is developing its own heavy and super-heavy launch vehicles, reusable rockets, and plans missions to explore the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Test launches of the Gaganyaan spacecraft are scheduled for 2024, and in 2025, three Indian astronauts will fly into space on their own ship. In this case, India will become the fourth nation in the world to have its own manned space program.
But the European Space Agency was out of luck in 2023. Having retired the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, the agency did not have time to prepare a replacement.
The first flight of Ariane 6 is scheduled for 2024, and access to the Soyuzes that have previously taken off from Kourou is currently impossible, so ESA does not actually have any rockets at the moment. Hence the very modest 3 launches in 2023.
Among the interesting space events of 2023, I would like to mention:
- запуск українських супутників PolyITAN-HP-30 та EOS SAT-1;
- launch of the JUICE mission to Jupiter;
- two, albeit unsuccessful, but very effective test launches of the SpaceX Starship;
- NASA experiment on the use of laser communication in deep space;
- return of the OSIRIS-REx capsule and detection of water and carbon compounds in samples of the asteroid Bennu;
- the first ever fine for space debris;
- landing of the Indian mission Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon;
- a record number of people who were in space at the same time.
Bonus:
Well, the space year 2023 was really successful and we hope that 2024 will be no worse. In fact, it has already begun. In the first three days of 2024, two successful launches were made, one of which was by India. India has launched the XPoSat space X-ray observatory, which will study pulsars, galaxy nuclei, black holes, star neutrons, and supernova remnants. Not a bad start of the year!