In 2007 the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of

Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) licensed

four orbital launches valued at approximately $220

million. Three of the launches were successful and one

launch failed. These launches include:

• Three Delta II vehicles carrying WorldView 1 and

Cosmo-Skymed 1 and 2, all successfully launched

from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) to low

Earth orbit (LEO); and

• One Zenit-3SL vehicle that failed to carry NSS 8

from Sea Launch’s Odyssey Launch Platform in

the Pacific Ocean to geosynchronous orbit (GSO).

The total number of FAA-licensed orbital launches in

2007 decreased from 2006, when there were seven

launches, primarily because no Sea Launch flights

occurred after the NSS 8 failure. The number of

orbital launches is expected to bounce back in 2008,

with between 8 and 12 projected to occur. Nine flights

under FAA experimental permits were conducted in

2007, compared to six in 2006. Seven were made by

Armadillo Aerospace and two by Blue Origin.

Russia led the market with 12 launches in 2007, a 52

percent market share. This was the most commercial

launches for Russia since 2000 and its highest commercial launch market share ever. Europe had a 26 percent

share in 2007, similar to its percentage in 2005 and

2006. The United States’ share increased from 9 to 13

percent between 2006 and 2007. India conducted its

first commercial launch in 2007, earning four percent

market share for the year. Sea Launch also conducted

one launch for four percent market share.

Twenty-three commercial orbital launches occurred in

2007, which is above the average number of almost 19

launches per year for the past five years. The annual

trend of more GSO than non-geosynchronous orbit

(NGSO) launches worldwide was reversed in 2007.

There were 12 commercial NGSO launches and 11

GSO launches. During the 2003-2007 period, there

was an average of over 13 commercial launches per

year to GSO and an average of 5 per year to NGSO.

8 9

5

7

4

8-12

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Number of Launches

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Projected

Federal Aviation Administration

Office of Commercial Space

Transportation

800 Independence Ave., S.W.

Room 331

Washington, DC 20591 SPECIAL EDITION February 5, 2008 

$529 $585

$350

$490

$220

$500-

775 

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

US$ Millions

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Projected

FAA-Licensed Commercial Orbital Launches

FAA-LICENSED VEHICLES LAUNCHED IN 2007

FAA-Licensed Commercial Orbital Launch Revenues

FOUR FAA-LICENSED ORBITAL LAUNCHES

AND NINE PERMITTED FLIGHTS IN 2007

WORLDWIDE ORBITAL COMMERCIAL LAUNCH

MARKET SHARE FOR 2007

USA: 3 (13%)

Russia: 12 (52%)

Multinational:

1 (4%)

Europe:

6 (26%)

Total: 23

FIVE-YEAR ORBITAL COMMERCIAL LAUNCH

TRENDS WORLDWIDE

United States Multinational

Vehicle Delta II Zenit-3SL

2007 Total Launches 8 1

2007 Licensed Launches 3 1

Launch Reliability (2007) 8/8 (100%) 0/1 (0%)

Launch Reliability

(Last 10 Years) 69/69 (100%) 22/24 (92%)

LEO kg (lbs) 6,100

(13,440)

15,246

(33,541)

GTO kg (lbs) 2,170

(4,790)

6,100

(13,440)

India: 1 (4%)
WORLDWIDE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH EVENTS IN 2007

Denotes a commercial payload, defined as a spacecraft which serves a commercial function or is operated by a commercial entity.

Denotes a commercial launch licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST).

L Denotes launch outcome (S-success, F-failure, and P-partial). M denotes mission outcome (S-success, F-failure, and P-partial).

* 

\/

Date Vehicle Site Payload(s) Operator Manufacturer Use L M

6/7/2007 \/ Delta II 7420-10 VAFB Cosmo-Skymed 1 Italian Space Agency Alenia Spazio Remote Sensing S S

9/18/2007 \/ Delta II 7925-10 VAFB * WorldView 1 DigitalGlobe Ball Aerospace and 

Technologies Corp.

Remote Sensing S S

12/8/2007 \/ Delta II 7420-10 VAFB Cosmo-Skymed 2 Italian Space Agency Alenia Spazio Remote Sensing S S

Europe

3/11/2007 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou Skynet 5A Paradigm Secure 

Communications Ltd.

EADS Communications S S

* Insat 4B ISRO ISRO Communications S S

5/4/2007 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou * Astra 1L SES Astra Lockheed Martin Corp. Communications S S

* Galaxy 17 Intelsat Alcatel Alenia Space Communications S S

8/14/2007 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou * Spaceway 3 Hughes Network Systems Boeing Satellite Systems Communications S S

* BSAT 3A Broadcasting Satellite System 

Corp.

Lockheed Martin Corp. Communications S S

10/5/2007 Ariane 5 GS Kourou * Optus D2 Singtel/Optus Orbital Sciences Corp. Communications S S

* Intelsat 11 Intelsat Orbital Sciences Corp. Communications S S

11/14/2007 Ariane 5 ECA Kourou Skynet 5B Paradigm Secure 

Communications Ltd.

EADS Communications S S

* Star One C1 Star One Alcatel Espace Communications S S

12/21/2007 Ariane 5 GS Kourou * RASCOM 1 RascomStar-QAF Alcatel Espace Communications S P

* Horizons 2 Intelsat Orbital Sciences Corp. Communications S S

Russia

4/10/2007 Proton M Baikonur * Anik F3 Telesat Canada EADS Astrium Communications S S

4/17/2007 Dnepr 1 Baikonur Egyptsat National Authority for Remote 

Sensing and Space Sciences

NPO Yuzhnoye Remote Sensing S S

AeroCube 2 The Aerospace Corporation The Aerospace Corporation Development S S

CAPE-1 University of Louisiana University of Louisiana Development S S

CTSB 1 The Boeing Company The Boeing Company Development S S

Libertad 1 Universidad de Sergio Arboleda Universidad de Sergio 

Arboleda

Development S S

MAST Stanford University Stanford University Development S S

Polysat 3 and 4 Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering Cal Poly Aerospace 

Engineering

Development S S

SaudiComsat 3-7 Space Research Institute Space Research Institute Communications S S

Saudisat 3 Space Research Institute Space Research Institute Scientific S S

5/30/2007 Soyuz Baikonur * Globalstar 

Replacement 1-4

Globalstar, Inc. Space Systems/Loral Communications S S

6/15/2007 Dnepr 1 Baikonur * TerraSAR X Infoterra Ltd. EADS Astrium Remote Sensing S S

6/28/2007 Dnepr 1 Dombarovskiy * Genesis II Bigelow Aerospace Bigelow Aerospace Development S S

7/2/2007 Kosmos 3M Plesetsk SAR Lupe 2 German Defense Ministry OHB System Intelligence S S

7/7/2007 Proton M Baikonur * DIRECTV 10 DIRECTV, Inc. Boeing Satellite Systems Communications S S

9/6/2007 Proton M Baikonur * JCSAT 11 Japan Satellite Systems (JSAT) Lockheed Martin Corp. Communications F F

10/21/2007 Soyuz Baikonur * Globalstar 

Replacement 5-8

Globalstar, Inc. Space Systems/Loral Communications S S

11/1/2007 Kosmos 3M Plesetsk SAR Lupe 3 German Defense Ministry OHB System Intelligence S S

11/18/2007 Proton M Baikonur * Sirius 4 SES Sirius Lockheed Martin Corp. Communications S S

12/14/2007 Soyuz Baikonur * RADARSAT 2 Telesat Canada MacDonald, Dettwiler, and 

Associates, Ltd.

Remote Sensing S S

1/30/2007 \/ Zenit-3SL Odyssey 

Launch Platform

* NSS 8 SES New Skies Boeing Satellite Systems Communications F F

4/23/2007 PSLV Satish Dhawan AGILE Italian Space Agency Carlo Gavazzi Space Scientific S S

AAM ISRO ISRO Development S S

Multinational

United States

India

Federal Aviation Administration

Office of Commercial Space

Transportation

800 Independence Ave., S.W.

Room 331

Washington, DC 20591 SPECIAL EDITION February 5, 2008 

2007 FAA EXPERIMENTAL PERMIT FLIGHT ACTIVITY

Date Operator Vehicle Site

3/22/2007 Blue Origin Goddard (PM 1) West Texas Launch Site, TX

4/19/2007 Blue Origin Goddard (PM 1) West Texas Launch Site, TX

6/2/2007 Armadillo Aerospace Pixel Oklahoma Spaceport, OK

6/2/2007 Armadillo Aerospace Pixel Oklahoma Spaceport, OK

10/20/2007 Armadillo Aerospace MOD 1 Oklahoma Spaceport, OK

10/27/2007 Armadillo Aerospace MOD 1 Holloman AFB, NM

10/27/2007 Armadillo Aerospace MOD 1 Holloman AFB, NM

10/28/2007 Armadillo Aerospace MOD 1 Holloman AFB, NM

10/28/2007 Armadillo Aerospace MOD 1 Holloman AFB, NM