visualizedata.org
Find a place

Demo page: real public data, in a page layout that is still being designed. Numbers are as the sources published them on the build date shown at the bottom.

Topics / Space

How busy is space?

Every rocket that has aimed for orbit since 1957, and every catalogued object up there now, from Jonathan McDowell's General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects, read throughsatellitedata.dev.

How many rockets go to orbit?

253 orbital launch attempts in 2026 up to October 23, against 250 by the same day of 2025

253launchesOrbital and deep-space launch attempts, 2026 to October 23

  • 330 in 2025, 12 of them failed
  • Busiest full year on record: 2025, with 330
  • Who launched most in 2025: SpaceX (170), Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CASC 1st Acad) (39), Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (CASC 8th Acad) (26)
Orbital launch attempts, every year since 1957330 attempts in 2025, against 3 in 1957 and 85 in 2000; 12 failed in 2025.
01002003004001960197019801990200020102020
  • Launch attempts
  • 2026, to October 23
  • Failures
Indicator: Orbital and deep-space launch attempts per calendar year (GCAT launch codes O and D), and those that failed (a code other than S)Source: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (GCAT), launch list (CC-BY-4.0), via satellitedata.dev
Show the numbers (70 rows)
YearLaunch attemptsFailures
20262538
202533012
20242626
202322110
20221867
202114611
202011410
20191036
20181142
2017906
2016863
2015875
2014923
2013813
2012785
2011846
2010744
2009784
2008693
2007683
2006664
2005564
2004543
2003643
2002654
2001592
2000854
1999788
1998826
1997894
1996776
1995807
1994945
1993858
1992973
1991915
19901217
19891021
19881216
19871146
19861108
19851266
19841304
19831292
198212910
19811264
19801096
19791105
19781285
19771307
19761315
19751327
19741138
19731178
19721138
197113315
197012411
196912518
196812911
196713914
196613217
196512515
196410015
19637018
19628114
19615018
19603819
19592512
19582820
195731

From satellitedata.dev launches, version 2026-10-26.d59bbfbd54, built from General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (GCAT), launch list.

What is in orbit now?

36,056 catalogued objects in orbit, 16,946 of them working satellites

16,946working satellitesWorking satellites in orbit, catalog to 2026-10-23

  • 20,381 payloads, 10,687 pieces of debris, 2,870 components, 2,118 rocket stages
  • 14,472 of the working satellites (85%) were launched in 2022–2026
  • Largest owners: SpaceX (Seattle) (11,156), One Web (Network Access Associates Ltd.) (523), Kuiper Systems LLC (392)
Working satellites in orbit today, by the year they were launched14,472 of today's 16,946 working satellites went up in the last five years.
010002000300040005000197019801990200020102020
Indicator: Catalogued payloads in orbit and operating, counted by launch year (GCAT status in orbit, active)Source: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (GCAT), object catalogs and currentcat (CC-BY-4.0), via satellitedata.dev
Show the numbers (63 rows)
YearWorking satellites
20263586
20254390
20242511
20232261
20221724
2021985
2020354
2019126
2018175
2017127
201681
201586
201479
201375
201254
201153
201038
200938
200825
200727
200616
200512
20049
200317
20028
20016
20006
199910
199812
199711
19962
19955
19943
19935
19920
19912
19902
19892
19881
19870
19860
19851
19842
19831
19820
19810
19800
19790
19782
19770
19760
19750
19741
19730
19721
19713
19700
19692
19680
19670
19663
19655
19641

Working satellites by owner's country

CountryWorking satellitesShare
United States of America13,07777.2%
China, People's Republic of1,4568.6%
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland7224.3%
Russian Federation3642.1%
Japan (Nippon), State of1370.8%
French Republic950.6%
Italian Republic900.5%
Germany, Federal Republic of820.5%

From satellitedata.dev satellite-catalog, version 2026-10-26.0fef69ac70, built from General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (GCAT), object catalogs and currentcat.

Get this data

This page's numbers, as JSON:

curl https://visualizedata.org/data/space.json

Every launch, from satellitedata.dev (live, no key):

curl "https://api.satellitedata.dev/v1/launches/download/launches.csv"

Open the JSON

What this can't tell you

  • The catalog lists what can be tracked; fragments smaller than about 10 cm are not in it, and there are far more of those.
  • "Working" is GCAT's status for a payload; an operator does not always announce when a satellite stops.
  • A launch counts as an attempt when it aimed for orbit or deep space, whether or not it got there. The newest launches can take days to be catalogued.