• The space industry witnessed a record 12,597 spacecraft in orbit in 2023, including 3,356 inactive satellites, driven by the growth of satellite internet mega-constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink. [spacedaily.com, spacenews.com, klse.i3investor.com, theregister.com]
• A potential disaster was narrowly avoided when two satellites, one Russian and one American, almost collided, raising diplomatic concerns. [jeuxvideo.com]
• The Biden administration proposed an excise tax on private space companies like SpaceX to address the potential congestion of low-Earth orbit due to the rising number of satellite deployments. [forbes.com]
• The commercial sector dominates the space industry, accounting for 89% of all operational satellites, with communication satellites making up 79% of deployments in 2023, and geosynchronous satellites are facing overcrowding issues, with anomalies observed due to an increase in satellite maneuvers. [spacedaily.com, spacenews.com, klse.i3investor.com, theregister.com]
• SpaceX’s Starlink has thousands of satellites in orbit, with many actively working and some being retired, and the lack of sustainable end-of-life plans for satellites is a concern, leading to the worsening space debris situation and increasing risks to valuable services. [klse.i3investor.com, theregister.com]
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) received over 137,565 close approach alerts from US SPACECOM and conducted 23 collision avoidance maneuvers (CAMs) in low-Earth and geostationary orbits to prevent collisions with space debris and satellites in 2023. [swarajyamag.com, co.in, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindu.com]
• The space insurance industry faced record net losses of $995 million in 2023, driven by major claims like the Viasat-3 Americas and Inmarsat’s 6-F2 satellite incidents, leading to increasing premiums and some insurers exiting the industry. [klse.i3investor.com, theregister.com, spacedaily.com, spacenews.com, satellitetoday.com]
• Approximately 89% of satellites launched in 2023 were equipped with propulsion or de-orbit capability to manage end-of-life sustainably. [satellitetoday.com]
Sources:
- spacedaily.com (English)
- spacenews.com (English)
- klse.i3investor.com (English)
- theregister.com (English)
- swarajyamag.com (English)
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com (English)
- thehindu.com (English)
- forbes.com (English)
- jeuxvideo.com (French)
- menafn.com (English)
- newsable.asianetnews.com (English)
- thedailyguardian.com (English)
- indiandefensenews.in (English)
- sites.breakingmedia.com (English)
- satellitetoday.com (English)
