COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION:

1997 YEAR IN REVIEW

Associate Administrator for

Commercial Space Transportation (AST)

January 1998
Cover Photo Credits (from top):

International Launch Services (1997). Image is of the

Atlas 2A launch on March 8, 1997, from Cape

Canaveral Air Station. It successfully orbited the

Tempo direct broadcast satellite for Space

Systems/Loral.

McDonnell Douglas (1997). Image is of the Delta 2

7920 launch on May 5, 1997, from Vandenberg Air

Force Base. It successfully orbited the first five

Iridium communication satellites for Iridium Inc.

Orbital Sciences Corporation (1997). Image is of the

Pegasus XL that launched from Vandenberg Air

Force Base on August 1, 1997. It successfully

orbited the OrbView 2 (Seastar) remote sensing

satellite.

Lockheed Martin (1997). Image is of the Athena 1

that launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on

August 23, 1997. It successfully orbited the NASA

Lewis experimental imaging satellite.
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW INTRODUCTION

.

PAGE i

INTRODUCTION

In 1997, U.S. launch service providers conducted

17 launches licensed by the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), an increase of 55 percent

over the 11 launches conducted in 1996. Of

these 17, 14 were internationally competed

commercial launches, resulting in a 40 percent

share of the world’s market for commercial

launches. Revenues from these FAA-licensed

commercial space launches reached $940 million

in 1997, an increase of 48 percent over 1996

revenues of $635 million. Over the past five

years, revenues have increased by more than a

factor of three, up from $295 million in 1993.

The FAA issued seven new launch operator

licenses and license renewals in 1997, bringing the

total number of licenses issued to 38. The FAA

also issued two launch site operator licenses to

the Spaceport Florida Authority and the Virginia

Commercial Space Flight Authority.

In addition, 1997 saw the emergence of the

market for launches to deploy the world’s first

low Earth orbit (LEO) communication systems.

In 1997, both Iridium and Orbcomm began fullscale deployment of their respective

communications constellations. Forty-six

satellites of the 66-satellite Iridium constellation

were deployed in 1997. In December, Orbital

Sciences launched eight satellites of the

28-satellite Orbcomm constellation.

Commercial Space Transportation: 1997 Year in

Review summarizes U.S. and international launch

activities for calendar year 1997 and provides a

historical look at the past five years of

commercial launch activities. This report has

three parts:

• 1997 U.S.-Licensed Commercial Activity

• 1997 Worldwide Launch Activity

• Five-Year Space Transportation Trends

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR

COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION (AST)

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Associate

Administrator for Commercial Space

Transportation (AST) licenses and regulates U.S.

commercial space launch activity as authorized

by Executive Order 12465, Commercial

Expendable Launch Vehicle Activities, and the

Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. AST’s

mission is to regulate the U.S. commercial launch

industry and license commercial launch

operations to ensure public health and safety and

the safety of property and to protect national

security and foreign policy interests of the

United States during commercial launch

operations. In addition, the Commercial Space

Launch Act of 1984 and the 1996 National Space

Policy directs the Federal Aviation

Administration to encourage, facilitate, and

promote commercial space launches.
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 U.S.-LICENSED COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

PAGE 1

1997 U.S.-LICENSED COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

In 1997, U.S. launch service providers conducted

17 launches licensed by the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) (see Table 1). This is the

largest number of FAA-licensed launches

conducted in any one year and represents a 55

percent increase over the 11 FAA-licensed orbital

launches in 1996 (Figure 1). Of the United

States' 17 FAA-licensed launches, 14 were

internationally competed launch events.1 A total

of 38 orbital launch events were conducted in

1997 by U.S. launch providers, including

launches of the Space Shuttle and other civil and

military payloads.

Record Revenues

Last year was also a record year for U.S.

commercial space transportation revenues.

Revenues from FAA-licensed launches totaled an

estimated $940 million, a 48 percent increase

over 1996 revenues of $635 million (Figure 2).

Over the past five years, revenues have increased

by more than a factor of three, up from $295

million in 1993.

1

“Internationally competed” refers to launch opportunities

available, in principle, to international launch providers,

and not captive to one company or country’s vehicle.

New Launch Licenses Issued in 1997

The Federal Aviation Administration issued

seven new launch operator licenses and license

renewals in 1997, bringing the total number of

licenses issued by AST since its inception to 38.

A total of 84 licensed launches have been

conducted as of December 31, 1997.

Spaceport Licenses Issued in 1997

The FAA also issued two launch site operator

licenses: one to the Spaceport Florida Authority

and one to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight

Authority. The Spaceport Florida Authority was

issued a license to operate a commercial launch

site on Cape Canaveral Air Station.2 The Virginia

Commercial Space Flight Authority was issued a

license to operate the Virginia Space Flight

Center at Wallops Island. A third spaceport, the

California Spaceport, was licensed in 1996.

2

The first FAA-licensed spaceport launch was NASA’s

Lunar Prospector aboard Lockheed Martin’s new

Athena-2 on January 6, 1998 from Spaceport Florida.

Figure 1. U.S.-Licensed Orbital Launch Events

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

5 5

12

11

17

5

10

15

20

Number of Orbital Launches

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Figure 2. Revenues for U.S.-Licensed Orbital Launch

Events (in U.S. millions)

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

$295M

$353M

$707M $635M

$940M

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Table 1. 1997 FAA-Licensed Orbital Launch Events

Date Vehicle Payload Launch

Outcome

Orbit

Feb. 15 Atlas 2AS JCSAT 4 Success GEO

Mar. 8 Atlas 2A Tempo 2 Success GEO

Apr. 21 Pegasus XL Minisat 01 Success LEO

Celestis 1

May 5 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 1-5 Success LEO

May 20 Delta 2 7925 Thor 2 Success GEO

Jul. 9 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 13-17 Success LEO

Jul. 27 Atlas 2AS Superbird C1 Success GEO

Aug. 1 Pegasus XL* OrbView-2

(SeaStar)

Success LEO

Aug. 20 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 18-22 Success LEO

Aug. 23 Athena 1* Lewis Success LEO

Sep. 4 Atlas 2AS GE 3 Success GEO

Sep. 26 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 34-38 Success LEO

Oct. 5 Atlas 2AS EchoStar 3 Success GEO

Nov. 8 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 39-43 Success LEO

Dec. 8 Atlas 2AS Galaxy 8I Success GEO

Dec. 20 Delta 2 7920 Iridiums 44-48 Success LEO

Dec. 23 Pegasus XL* Orbcomms 5-12 Success LEO

* Not internationally competed.
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 U.S.-LICENSED COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

PAGE 2

LEO Market Emerges

The sharp increase in U.S. commercial launch

activities in 1997 can be attributed to the

emergence of the market for launches to low

Earth orbit (LEO), which accounted for 10 of the

17 FAA-licensed launches. A total of 42

payloads were launched to LEO on these FAAlicensed launches in 1997 (Figure 3).

Six of the seven U.S. commercial launches to

LEO were Delta 2 launch vehicles, deploying 30

Iridium satellites. Iridium, owned by Motorola

and a number of international partners, will

provide seamless, global, mobile telephone

services. A total of 46 satellites of the planned

66-satellite constellation were deployed in 1997

by six launches of the Delta 2 (five Iridium

satellites per launch), two launches of Russia’s

Proton vehicle (seven per launch), and one launch

of China’s Long March 2C (two satellites).

On December 23, a Pegasus began full-scale

deployment of the Orbcomm system with the

launch of eight satellites. The 28-satellite

Orbcomm system will provide two-way

narrowband data communications worldwide.

Other U.S. Launch Activities

U.S. launches in 1997 were conducted by seven

launch vehicle families (see Table 2 below).

Noteworthy events include Lockheed Martin’s

first successful launch of the Athena launch

vehicle (formerly the Lockheed Martin Launch

Vehicle, or LMLV), deploying NASA’s Lewis

remote sensing spacecraft on August 23.

The United States experienced only one launch

failure in 1997: an Air Force Delta 2 on January

17 in a non-commercial launch. The accident, due

to a failure in one of nine solid rocket boosters,

caused a four-month hiatus in Delta 2 launches.

Figure 3. Payloads Launched on U.S.-Licensed

Launches, by Orbit (1993-1997)

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

0

10

20

30

40

50

Number of Payloads Launched

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

LEO

GEO

Table 2. United States Launch Vehicle Performance in 1997

Vehicle

1997 Launches:

FAA Licensed

Total Launches

Reliability 1997

Last 10 Years

First Launch

Launch Sites

LEO (lb./28.5°/100 nm)

GTO (lb.)

Athena 1

1

1

1/1 (100%)

1/2 (50%)

1995

CCAS, VAFB

1,760

N/A

Atlas 1 & 2

6

8

8/8 (100%)

42/44 (95.5%)

1990

CCAS, VAFB

19,050

8,150

Delta 2

7

11

10/11 (90.9%)

64/65 (98.5%)

1989

CCAS, VAFB

11,220

4,060

Pegasus

3

5

5/5 (100%)

16/19 (84.2%)

1990

VAFB, Wallops

1,015

N/A

Shuttle

0

8

8/8 (100%)

64/64 (100%)

1981

KSC

47,300

13,000

Titan 2

0

1

1/1(100%)

6/6 (100%)

1964

VAFB

7,900

N/A

Titan 4

0

4

4/4 (100%)

22/23 (95.7%)

1989

CCAS, VAFB

47,800

19,000

UNITED STATES
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ACTIVITY

PAGE 3

1997 WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ACTIVITY

Worldwide, a record 35 internationally competed

commercial launches took place in 1997, nearly

double the number of commercial launches in

1996. Of these, 14 were conducted by U.S.

launch vehicles and 21 were conducted by foreign

launch vehicles (Table 3). The United States had

the largest share of the commercial launch market

last year, capturing 40 percent (Figure 6).

Overall, there were a total of 89 orbital launch

events and 150 payloads launched worldwide in

1997 for commercial, civil, and military

purposes. These launches are summarized and

listed in an appendix to this report. The United

States conducted more launches than any other

nation in 1997 with 38 launches, as well as the

largest number of commercial launches. Russia

followed with 29 launches, two more than in

1996. Europe’s Arianespace conducted the

second largest number of commercial launches

with 11, a commercial record for the Ariane 4

launch vehicle.

Figure 4. 1997 Worldwide Orbital Launch Events

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Number of Orbital 

Launch Events

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil

Non-Commercial

Commercial (Internationally Competed)

Table 4. Orbital Launch Events in 1997

NonCommercial

Launches

Commercial

Launches

TOTAL

Launches

United States 24 14 38

Russia 22 7 29

Europe 1 11 12

China 3 3 6

Japan 2 0 2

India 1 0 1

Brazil 1 0 1

TOTAL 54 35 89

Figure 5. Total Worldwide Market Share for 1997

Russia

33%

Europe

13%

China

7%

United States

43%

India

Japan 1%

2%

Brazil

1%

TOTAL: 89 

LAUNCHES

Figure 6. Worldwide Commercial Market Share for 1997

Russia

20%

Europe

31%

China

9%

United States

40%

TOTAL: 35 

COMMERCIAL LAUNCHES

Table 3. 1997 Non-U.S. Commercial Launch Events

Date Vehicle Payload Launch

Outcome

Orbit

Jan. 30 Ariane 44L GE 2 Success GEO

Nahuel 1A

Feb. 28 Ariane 44P Intelsat 8 F1 Success GEO

Apr. 16 Ariane 44LP BSAT 1 Success GEO

Thaicom 3

May 24 Proton SL-12 Telstar 5 Success GEO

Jun. 3 Ariane 44L Inmarsat 3 F4 Success GEO

Insat 2D

Jun. 18 Proton SL-12 Iridiums 6-12 Success LEO

Jun. 25 Ariane 44P Intelsat 8 F2 Success GEO

Aug. 8 Ariane 44P PAS 6 Success GEO

Aug. 19 Long March 3B Agila 2 Success GEO

Aug. 28 Proton SL-12 PAS 5 Success GEO

Sep. 2 Ariane 44LP Hot Bird Plus 3 Success GEO

Meteosat 7

Sep. 14 Proton SL-12 Iridiums 27-33 Success LEO

Sep. 23 Ariane 44P Intelsat 8 F3 Success GEO

Oct. 17 Long March 3B APStar 2R Success GEO

Nov. 12 Ariane 44L IndoStar 1 Success GEO

Sirius 2

Dec. 2 Ariane 44P JCSAT 5 Success GEO

Dec. 3 Proton SL-12 Astra 1G Success GEO

Dec. 8 Long March 2C Iridiums 25 - 26 Success LEO

Dec. 21 Ariane 44P Intelsat 8 F4 Success GEO

Dec. 23 Proton SL-12 Asiasat 3 Failure GEO

Dec. 24 START 1 EarlyBird 1 Success LEO
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ACTIVITY

PAGE 4

Worldwide Payload Summary

More than 75 commercial payloads3 were

launched into orbit in 1997, three times that of

1996. In fact, there were more worldwide

commercial payloads launched last year than

military and civil government payloads.

The United States had, by far, the greatest

number of commercial payload deployments in

1997, launching 39 commercial satellites and a

total of 68 payloads. In fact, more than half of

the commercial payloads last year were launched

by U.S. launch service providers (Figure 9).

Most of these payloads were Iridium satellites

(30 in all for the United States) to low Earth

orbit. Similarly, Russia launched a high

percentage of commercial payloads last year,

carrying 14 Iridium satellites to orbit on two

Proton launches. After the United States, Russia

launched the most payloads in 1997, carrying a

33 percent of the total (Figure 8).

Launch Activities by Country

Russia – In its second year of commercial launch

activity, Russia became firmly established in

1997 as a commercial launch provider, conducting

six commercial Proton launches and one

commercial START-1 launch. In 1997, Russia

conducted 29 launches overall for 33 percent of

the world’s total launches.

Launches for Russia's civil and military space

programs continued a post-Cold War decline,

falling to only 22 launches from a high of nearly

100 launches annually in the mid-1980s. Russia

conducted six missions to the Mir space station

and five launches of civil government payloads.

The remaining 11 non-commercial launches were

of Russian military satellites.

3

“Commercial payload” numbers do not include the eight

Orbcomm and one OrbView satellites, which were

launched on FAA-licensed vehicles but were not

launched as the result of an international competition.

Figure 7. 1997 Worldwide Payloads Launched

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Number of Payloads Launched

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil

Non-Commercial Payloads

Commercial Payloads

(Internationally Competed)

Table 5. Payloads Launched in 1997

NonCommercial

Payloads

Commercial

Payloads

TOTAL

Payloads

Launched

United States 29 39 68

Russia 31 19 50

Europe 4 15 19

China 4 4 8

Japan 3 0 3

India 1 0 1

Brazil 1 0 1

TOTAL 73 77 150

Figure 8. Total Worldwide Payload Launch Market

Share for 1997

Russia

33%

Europe

13%

United States

45%

China

5%

India

1% Japan

2%

Brazil

1%

TOTAL: 150 PAYLOADS

Figure 9. Worldwide Commercial Payload Launch

Market Share for 1997

Russia

25%

Europe

19% United States

51%

China

5%

TOTAL: 77 PAYLOADS
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ACTIVITY

PAGE 5

Of the six commercial Proton missions, four were

contracted through U.S.-based International

Launch Services (ILS), a marketing partnership

originally established in 1993 by Lockheed

Martin of the United States and Proton’s

manufacturers, Khrunichev and Energia of

Russia. All four launches carried payloads to

GEO. The two remaining commercial Proton

missions delivered seven Iridium satellites each

into LEO and were contracted directly with

Khrunichev. Russia also suffered its first

commercial launch failure on December 23. The

Proton's Block DM upper stage failed, leaving

Asiasat 3 in a useless orbit.

On December 24, a Russian START-1 launched

EarthWatch’s commercial remote sensing

spacecraft, EarlyBird, in the first dedicated

commercial launch of a non-U.S. small launch

vehicle. Although the launch was successful,

contact with EarlyBird was lost and its status

remains uncertain. The launch was also the first

commercial launch from Russia's new Svobodny

launch site in the Russian far east.

Europe – In 1997, Arianespace's Ariane 4

conducted 11 launches, deploying 15 commercial

GEO payloads (see Tables 4 & 5, above) and

two civil satellites. This is an increase over 13

payloads in 1996. Despite a record number of

commercial launches, Europe's Arianespace held,

for the first time ever, a smaller share of the

commercial launch market in 1997 (31 percent)

than did the United States (40 percent).

Europe’s Ariane 5 conducted its first successful

launch on October 30. However, premature

shutdown of the main stage resulted in lower

than expected performance. The Ariane 5,

designed as a successor to the Ariane 4, failed in

its first launch attempt in June 1996. The third

flight of the Ariane 5, expected for mid-1998, is

expected to carry a commercial payload.

China – China conducted six launches in 1997,

three of which were internationally competed

commercial launches. China conducted two

commercial GEO launches, the same as in 1996,

and one launch of two Iridium satellites to LEO,

Table 6. Russian and European Launch Vehicle Performance in 1997

Vehicle

1997 Launches

Reliability 1997

Last 10 Years

First Launch

Launch Sites

LEO (lb./28.5°/100 nm)

GTO (lb.)

Cosmos

2

2/2

(100%)

66/67

(98.5%)

1964

Plesetsk

3,100

N/A

Cyclone 2

1

1/1

(100%)

20/20

(100%)

1966

Baikonur

8,820

N/A

Cyclone 3

1

1/1

(100%)

51/53

(96.2%)

1977

Plesetsk

8,820

N/A

Molniya

3

3/3

(100%)

63/63

(100%)

1961

Plesetsk,

Baikonur

3,970

N/A

Proton

9

8/9

(88.9%)

88/94

(93.6%)

1967

Baikonur

46,000

12,100

Soyuz

10

10/10

(100%)

218/221

(98.6%)

1963

Plesetsk,

Baikonur

15,400

N/A

START

2

2/2

(100%)

3/4

(75%)

1993

Plesetsk,

Svobodny

1,540

N/A

Zenit

1

0/1

(0%)

13/17

(76.5%)

1985

Baikonur

30,300

N/A

Ariane 4

11

11/11

(100%)

71/74

(95.9%)

1988

Kourou

21,100

9,965

Ariane 5

1

1/1

(100%)

1/2

(50%)

1996

Kourou

39,600

15,000

RUSSIA EUROPE
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW 1997 WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ACTIVITY

PAGE 6

for a total of four commercial payloads (see

Table 5) and five percent of the world’s total

payloads launched (see Figure 8). China also

conducted a non-commercial launch of two

dummy Iridium satellites to demonstrate the

Long March’s multiple-payload launching

capability. All six of China's Long March

launches were successful in 1997, which stands

in contrast to the Long March's poor

performance during the previous two years (Long

March had a 57-percent success rate for that

period). Two of four launches in 1996 and one

of three launches in 1995 resulted in failure.

Japan – Japan's National Space Development

Agency (NASDA) launched the H2 rocket in

November 1997, carrying the Japanese ETS-7

and Japanese/NASA TRMM satellites to GEO.

NASDA also successfully launched a sub-orbital

vehicle, Test Rocket for Space Experiment (TR1A), in September. The Japanese Institute of

Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) had the

first launch of the new M5 vehicle in 1997,

successfully launching the Muses-B satellite into

an elliptical orbit.

India – India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

(PSLV) launched the IRS-1D satellite into a

lower than intended orbit in September 1997, in

the fourth launch of the PSLV since its

introduction in 1993. Although the PSLV is

offered commercially, it has yet to launch any

commercial payloads or sign any commercial

launch contracts.

Brazil – On November 2, Brazil attempted to

launch its first indigenously developed launch

vehicle, the Veiculo Lancador de Satellites (VLS)

from its Alcântara launch site. The first flight of

the VLS small launch vehicle ended in failure

when one of the four solid boosters failed to

ignite, and the vehicle was destroyed. The VLS

would have deployed Brazil’s SCD-2A data

relay satellite for use in climate monitoring. Had

the VLS been successful, Brazil would have

become the ninth nation to place a satellite in

orbit by its own efforts and the first South or

Central American nation to achieve this goal.

Brazil plans to launch one VLS rocket per year

for the next few years and intends to eventually

begin selling VLS launch services commercially.

Table 7. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Brazilian Launch Vehicle Performance in 1997

Vehicle

1997 Launches

Reliability 1997

Last 10 Years

First Launch

Launch Sites

LEO (lb./28.5°/100 nm)

GTO (lb.)

LM 2C

2

2/2

(100%)

6/6

(100%)

1975

Jiuquan

7,040

2,200

LM 3

1

1/1

(100%)

8/9

(88.9%)

1984

Xichang

11,023

3,100

LM 3A

1

1/1

(100%)

3/3

(100%)

1994

Xichang

15,800

5,500

LM 3B

2

2/2

(100%)

2/3

(66.7%)

1996

Xichang

29,900

9,900

H2

1

1/1

(100%)

5/5

(100%)

1994

Tanegashima

23,000

8,800

M5

1

1/1

(100%)

1/1

(100%)

1997

Kagoshima

5,500

2,680

PSLV

1

1/1

(100%)

3/4

(75%)

1993

Sriharikota

6,400

990

VLS

1

0/1

(0%)

0/1

(0%)

1997

Alcântara

440

N/A

CHINA JAPAN INDIA BRAZIL
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW FIVE-YEAR SPACE TRANSPORTATION TRENDS

PAGE 7

FIVE-YEAR SPACE TRANSPORTATION TRENDS

The global commercial space transportation

industry has experienced consistent and

aggressive growth since 1993 (Figure 12). From

1993 to 1997, worldwide commercial launches

have increased at a rate of approximately 41

percent each year, while overall launch rates have

remained steady over the past five years

(approximately 84 launches per year). Nineteen

ninety-seven saw a record increase, 66 percent

from the previous year, and a record 35

commercial orbital launch events (Table 8).

Commercial launches in 1997 accounted for about

43 percent of total worldwide launches, while

1996 commercial launches made up only 31

percent of the total.

Worldwide commercial launch revenues for the

same period showed comparable growth.

Combined worldwide commercial revenues were

$2.4 billion last year, a 57-percent jump from

revenues in 1996. Russia nearly tripled its

commercial revenues last year at $351 million

from $120 million in 1996. The United States

showed a 76 percent growth last year in revenues

over 1996 for internationally competed launches.

Nineteen ninety-seven also saw the largest

number of payloads to orbit, 150 total, a more

than 50 percent increase over 1996. The vast

majority of payloads in 1997 went to low Earth

Figure 11. Launch Revenues for Commercial Launch

Events (in U.S. millions)

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Russia

China

Europe

USA

Figure 12. Five-Year Summary (1993 - 1997)

Launches by Launch Event Type

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Number of Orbital Launches

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Non-Commercial

Commercial (Internationally Competed)

Table 8. Five-Year Summary (1993 - 1997)

Launches by Launch Event Type

NonCommercial Commercial TOTAL

1993 74 9 83

1994 79 14 93

1995 62 18 80

1996 56 21 77

1997 54 35 89

Figure 13. Five-Year Summary (1993 - 1997)

Commercial Payloads Launched, by Orbit

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Number of Internationally Competed 

Payloads Launched

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

LEO

GEO

Table 9. Five-Year Summary (1993 - 1997)

Commercial Payloads Launched, by Orbit

GEO LEO TOTAL

1993 10 1 11

1994 18 0 18

1995 18 1 19

1996 24 1 25

1997 28 49 77
1997 YEAR IN REVIEW FIVE-YEAR SPACE TRANSPORTATION TRENDS

PAGE 8

orbit (LEO), most notably because of the 46

Iridium satellites launched. In fact, 1997 saw

more than double the number of LEO payloads

than in the previous year.

For the past five years, from 1993 through

1997, the United States and Russia have led the

world in total orbital launch events (see Figure

14). Russia has conducted the most launches

during this period with 186 (see Table 10) with

U.S. launch service providers closely behind at

153. Russia's launch rate has been dropping,

however, at an average annual rate of 11 percent

each year, in part due to Russia's waning

economic support for space activities.

Europe remains a distant third with only 49

orbital launch events. Yet, Europe's

Arianespace is noted as having conducted the

largest number of commercial launches for this

period, with 42 internationally competed

launch events, for a 44 percent share of the

commercial market (Figure 16). Europe’s

Arianespace commercial launches outnumbered

non-commercial launches by a ratio of six to

one. U.S. launch service providers performed

36 commercial launch events during this period,

which is close in number to that of

Arianespace, and amounts to a 37 percent

commercial market share.

In terms of overall launch activity for the

period 1993 through 1997, Russia holds the

largest share of the world's total launches with

44 percent (see Figure 15) but the smallest

share in terms of commercial launches (only

nine percent). Nineteen ninety-seven was

Russia’s second year of commercial launch

activity, but Russia’s launch providers have

already captured nearly as many commercial

launches as China, which has been conducting

commercial launches since 1990.

Figure 14. Five-Year Worldwide Launch Totals

(1993 - 1997)

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil Israel

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Number of Orbital Launches

United

States

Russia Europe China Japan India Brazil Israel

Non-Commercial

Commercial (Internationally Competed)

Table 10. Five-Year Worldwide Launch Totals

(1993 - 1997)

NonCommercial

Launches

Commercial

Launches TOTAL

United States 117 36 153

Russia 177 9 186

Europe 7 42 49

China 9 10 19

Japan 8 0 8

India 5 0 5

Brazil 1 0 1

Israel 1 0 1

TOTAL 325 97 422

Figure 15. Five-Year Worldwide Orbital Launch Share

(1993 - 1997)

United States

36%

Russia

44%

Europe

12%

China

5%

Japan

2%

India

1%

Brazil

<1%

Israel

<1%

TOTAL: 422 

LAUNCHES

Figure 16. Five-Year Worldwide Commercial Launch

Share (1993 - 1997)

China

10%

United States

37%

Europe

44%

Russia

TOTAL: 97 9%

COMMERCIAL LAUNCHES
 1997 Launch Events

OUTCOME

DATE VEHICLE SITE PAYLOAD OPERATOR MANUFACTURER USE LAUNCH $ L M

1/12/97 Shuttle Atlantis KSC STS 81 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

1/17/97 Delta 2 7925 CCAS Navstar GPS 2R- 1 DoD Rockwell International Navigation ~47.5M F F

1/30/97 Ariane 44L Kourou GE 2 GE Americom Lockheed Martin Communication ~100M S S

Nahuel 1A Nahuelsat Aerospatiale Communication

2/10/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Soyuz TM-25 RKK Energia RKK Energia Crewed ~18.5M S S

2/11/97 Shuttle Discovery KSC STS 82 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

2/12/97 M 5 Kagoshima Muses B ISAS NEC Scientific ~44.0M S S

2/14/97 Cyclone SL-14 Plesetsk Gonets D1 04-06 (3 sats) Smolsat (NPO PM, et. al) NPO PM Communication ~12.5M S S

Kosmos 2337 - 2339 Russian MoD AO Polyot Communication

2/15/97 Atlas 2AS CCAS JCSAT 4 JAST Hughes Communication ~95M S S

2/23/97 Titan 4B/IUS CCAS DSP 18 DoD TRW Military N/A S S

2/28/97 Ariane 44P Kourou Intelsat 8 F1 Intelsat Lockheed Martin Communication ~82.5M S S

3/4/97 START 1 Svobodny Zeya Russian MoD Russia Geodesy ~7.5M S S

3/8/97 Atlas 2A CCAS Tempo 2 TCI Space Systems/Loral Communication ~72.5M S S

4/4/97 Shuttle Columbia KSC STS 83 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S P

4/4/97 Titan 2 VAFB DMSP 5D-2-F14 DoD Lockheed Martin Meteorological ~43.9875M S S

4/6/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Progress M-34 RKK Energia RKK Energia Supply ~18.5M S S

4/9/97 Molniya SL-6 Plesetsk Kosmos 2340 Russian MoD NPO Lavotchkin Military N/A S S

4/16/97 Ariane 44LP Kourou BSAT 1 Telecom. Advan. Org. Hughes Communication ~87.5M S S

Thaicom 3 Shinawatra Sat. Ltd. Aerospatiale Communication

4/17/97 Cosmos SL-8 Plesetsk Kosmos 2341 Russian MoD NPO PM Navigation ~10M S S

4/21/97 Pegasus XL Spain Celestis 1 Celestis Celestis Other ~13M S S

Minisat 01 INTA INTA Scientific

4/25/97 Atlas 1 CCAS GOES 10 NOAA Space Systems/Loral Meteorological ~65M S S

5/5/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 1-5 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~45.7M S S

5/11/97 Long March 3A Xichang DFH 3-2 Chinese Brdcst. Sat. Corp. CAST (CAST) Communication ~40M S S

5/14/97 Molniya SL-6 Plesetsk Kosmos 2342 Russian MoD NPO Lavotchkin Military N/A S S

5/15/97 Shuttle Atlantis KSC STS 84 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

5/15/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Kosmos 2343 Russian MoD TsSKB Progress Military ~18.5M S S

5/20/97 Zenit 2 SL-16 Baikonur Kosmos F1-1997 Russia Russia Military ~32.5M F F

5/20/97 Delta 2 7925 CCAS Thor 2 Telenor A.S. Hughes Communication ~47.5M S S

5/24/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Telstar 5 AT&T Space Systems/Loral Communication ~60M S S

6/3/97 Ariane 44L Kourou Inmarsat 3 F4 Inmarsat Lockheed Martin Communication ~100M S S

Insat 2D ISRO ISRO Communication

6/6/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Kosmos 2344 Russian MoD Russian MoD Military ~60M S S

6/10/97 Long March 3 Xichang FY 2-B CAST Shanghai Inst. of Sat. Eng. Meteorological ~37.5M S S

6/18/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Iridiums 6-12 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~60M S S

6/25/97 Ariane 44P Kourou Intelsat 8 F2 Intelsat Lockheed Martin Communication ~82.5M S S

7/1/97 Shuttle Columbia KSC STS 83R NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

Wake Shield Facility 4 Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center Space Industries, Inc. Microgravity

7/5/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Progress M-35 RKK Energia RKK Energia Supply ~18.5M S S

7/9/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 13-17 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~45.7M S S

7/23/97 Delta 2 7925 CCAS Navstar GPS 2R- 2 DoD Lockheed Martin Navigation ~47.5M S S

7/27/97 Atlas 2AS CCAS Superbird C1 Space Communications Corp. Hughes Communication ~95M S S

8/1/97 Pegasus XL VAFB OrbView-2 (SeaStar) OSC OSC Remote Sensing ~13M S S

8/5/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Soyuz TM-26 RKK Energia RKK Energia Crewed ~18.5M S S

8/7/97 Shuttle Discovery KSC CRISTA SPAS 2 NASA/DARA MBB Erno Scientific ~188.3M S S

SEDSat 1 NASA U. of Ala./Huntsville Scientific

STS 85 NASA Rockwell International Crewed

8/8/97 Ariane 44P Kourou PAS 6 PanAmSat Space Systems/Loral Communication ~82.5M S S

8/14/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Kosmos 2345 Russian MoD Russian MoD Military ~60M S S

8/19/97 Long March 3B Xichang Agila 2 Mabuhay Phil. Sat. Corp. Space Systems/Loral Communication ~65M S S

8/20/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 18-22 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~57.1M S S

8/23/97 Athena 1 VAFB Lewis NASA TRW Remote Sensing ~15M S F

 = Commercial Launch Event Appendix Page 1
 1997 Launch Events

OUTCOME

DATE VEHICLE SITE PAYLOAD OPERATOR MANUFACTURER USE LAUNCH $ L M

8/25/97 Delta 2 7920 CCAS ACE NASA NASA Scientific ~47.5M S S

8/28/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur PAS 5 PanAmSat Hughes Communication ~60M S S

8/29/97 Pegasus XL VAFB FORTE P94-1 DoD Los Alamos National Laboratory Military ~13M S S

9/1/97 Long March 2C Taiyuan Iridium MFS 1 - 2 China Aerospace Corp. Lockheed Martin Test ~17.5M S S

9/2/97 Ariane 44LP Kourou Hot Bird Plus 3 Eutelsat Matra Marconi Communication ~87.5M S S

Meteosat 7 Eumetsat Aerospatiale Meteorological

9/4/97 Atlas 2AS CCAS GE 3 GE Americom Lockheed Martin Communication ~95M S S

9/14/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Iridiums 27-33 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~43.4M S S

9/23/97 Ariane 44P Kourou Intelsat 8 F3 Intelsat Lockheed Martin Communication ~82.5M S S

9/23/97 Cosmos SL-8 Plesetsk Faisat 02V Final Analysis Inc. Final Analysis Inc. Communication ~10M S S

Kosmos 2346 Russian MoD AO Polyot Navigation

9/25/97 Shuttle Atlantis KSC STS 86 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

9/25/97 Molniya SL-6 Plesetsk Molniya 3-49 Russian PTT NPO PM Communication N/A S S

9/25/97 TR 1A Tanegashima Takesaki 6 NASDA NASDA Microgravity N/A S S

9/26/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 34-38 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~47.5M S S

9/29/97 PSLV Sriharikota IRS 1D ISRO ISRO Remote Sensing N/A P S

10/5/97 Atlas 2AS CCAS EchoStar 3 EchoStar Satellite Corp. Lockheed Martin Communication ~95M S S

10/5/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Progress M-36 RKK Energia RKK Energia Supply ~18.5M S S

10/9/97 Soyuz SL-4 Plesetsk Foton N-11 Space Research Institute (IKI) KB Photon Microgravity ~18.5M S S

Mirka DLR Kayser-Threde Scientific

10/15/97 Titan 4B/Centaur CCAS Cassini NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Scientific N/A S S

Huygens ESA Aerospatiale Scientific

10/17/97 Long March 3B Xichang APStar 2R APT Satellite Co., Ltd. Space Systems/Loral Communication ~65M S S

10/22/97 Pegasus XL Wallops Flight Facility STEP 4 DoD/USAF TRW Development ~13M S F

10/23/97 Titan 4 VAFB USA 133 U.S. Government Lockheed Martin Military ~170M S S

10/24/97 Atlas 2A CCAS DSCS III 3-10 DoD Lockheed Martin Communication ~72.5M S S

Falcon Gold AF Academy/U. of Col. AF Academy/U. of Col. Experimental

10/30/97 Ariane 5 Kourou Maqsat H Arianespace Arianespace Experimental ~129.06M S S

Teamsat 1 ESA ESA Scientific

11/2/97 VLS Alcantara SCD 2A IAE IAE Communication N/A F F

11/5/97 Delta 2 7925 CCAS Navstar GPS 2-28 DoD Rockwell International Navigation ~47.5M S S

11/7/97 Titan 4/Centaur CCAS USA 136 U.S. Government Boeing Military ~255M S S

11/8/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 39-43 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~47.5M S S

11/12/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Coupon/Bankir 1 Global Information Systems, Inc. NPO Lavotchkin Communication ~60M S S

11/12/97 Ariane 44L Kourou IndoStar 1 PT MediaCitra IndoStar OSC (OSC) Communication ~100M S S

Sirius 2 NSAB Aerospatiale Communication

11/18/97 Soyuz SL-4 Plesetsk Resurs-F 1M Russian MoD TsSKB Remote Sensing ~18.5M S S

11/19/97 Shuttle Columbia KSC STS 87 NASA Rockwell International Crewed ~188.3M S S

Spartan 201-04 NASA NASA Scientific

11/28/97 H 2 Tanegashima ETS 7 NASDA Toshiba Development ~191.2M S S

TRMM NASDA/NASA NASA Goddard Remote Sensing

12/2/97 Ariane 44P Kourou Equator-S NASA/DARA Max Planck Institute Scientific ~82.5M S S

JCSAT 5 JAST Hughes Communication

12/3/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Astra 1G SES Hughes Communication ~60M S S

12/8/97 Atlas 2AS CCAS Galaxy 8I PanAmSat Hughes Communication ~95M S S

12/8/97 Long March 2C Taiyuan Iridiums 25-26 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~17.5M S S

12/9/97 Cyclone SL-14 Baikonur Kosmos 2347 Russian MoD NPO Kometa Military ~12.5M S S

12/16/97 Soyuz SL-4 Plesetsk Kosmos 2348 Russian MoD Russia TBA Military ~18.5M S S

12/20/97 Soyuz SL-4 Baikonur Progress M-37 RKK Energia RKK Energia Supply ~18.5M S S

12/20/97 Delta 2 7920 VAFB Iridiums 44-48 Iridium, Inc. Lockheed Martin Communication ~47.5M S S

12/21/97 Ariane 44P Kourou Intelsat 8 F4 Intelsat Lockheed Martin Communication ~82.5M S S

12/23/97 Proton SL-12 Baikonur Asiasat 3 Asia Sat. Telecom. Ltd. Hughes Communication ~60M F F

12/23/97 Pegasus XL VAFB Orbcomms 05-12 Orbcomm OSC Communication ~13M S S

12/24/97 START 1 Svobodny Earlybird 1 Earthwatch, Inc. CTA (now OSC) Remote Sensing ~7.5M S TBA

 = Commercial Launch Event Appendix Page 2