As per estimates, over 58% of the satellites orbiting the Earth remain active, while others are inactive.
The year 2022, so far, has witnessed the maximum number of orbital and suborbital launches. In total, 155 launches have taken place, out of which five failed and one suffered partial failures.
According to the Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space, maintained by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), there are 8261 individual satellites orbiting the Earth; an increase of 11.84% compared to April 2021.
By the end of January 2022, there were 12, 293 objects launched into the space. Moreover, there are 31 different launch facilities listed by UNOOSA, including air-based, sea-based and even submarine-based launches.
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Are all satellites orbiting in space, active?
According to UNOOSA records, there are 8,261 satellites orbiting the Earth as on January 2022, out of which only 4,852 satellites are active (as at the end of December 2021), confirmed by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), who maintains the record of the operational satellites.
According to UCS, there are 6,542 satellites, out of which 3,372 satellites are active and 3,170 satellites are inactive, as recorded by 1st January, 2021.
According to UCS:
| Number of satellites | Purpose |
| 3135 | Communications |
| 1030 | Earth Observation |
| 385 | Technology development/demonstration |
| 154 | Navigation/positioning |
| 22 | Earth science |
| 18 | Other purposes |
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Growth Drivers
The growth in the number of satellites over the last decade was mainly driven by the development of the smaller CubeSat, which allows a large number of small-sized satellites to launch at the same time, however, earlier rockets were used only to launch one or two satellites at a time.
The top 10 countries which are dominating the satellite industry are USA, China, Russia, UK, Japan, India, France, Canada, Germany and Luxembourg.
Euroconsult’s recently released report titled ‘Prospects for Space Exploration’ indicates that global space exploration is likely to touch $31 billion in the next decade.
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Nibedita Mohanta
Nibedita Mohanta is Chief Sub-editor with Geospatial World.
FAQs
How many satellites are orbiting Earth in 2022? ›
2022 has witnessed the maximum number of orbital and sub-orbital launches. 149 out of 155 launches were successful in 2022. According to United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), 8261 individual satellites are orbiting the Earth now, out of which 4,852 satellites are active.
How many satellites are currently orbiting the Earth? ›...
How many active satellites are small satellites?
There are approximately 3,000 satellites operating in Earth orbit, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), out of roughly 8,000 man-made objects in total. In its entire history, the SSN has tracked more than 24,500 space objects orbiting Earth.
How many Starlink satellites are in orbit 2022? ›It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023. SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of February 2023, Starlink consists of over 3,580 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers.
How many satellites are currently orbiting the Earth and what are their uses? ›As of April 2022, there were 5,465 operational satellites in Earth orbit, of which 3,434 belong to the United States (2,992 commercial), 541 belong to China, 172 belong to Russia, and 1,319 belong to other nations.
How many satellites are above us right now? ›More than half of the 4,550 satellites orbiting Earth are used for communications purposes, and that number will continue to rise as tech billionaires look to bring high-speed Internet access to every corner of Earth.
How many satellites does the US military have? ›There were a lot of United States military satellite projects that were started in the 1950s. Now, there are 123 military satellites run by the United States that orbit the Earth.
How many times can a satellite go around the world during 1 day? ›Due to the rotation of the Earth, satellites in polar orbit pass over a different vertical swath of the planet's surface on each revolution. Using a polar orbital regime, a single satellite could observe every point on Earth twice in one 24-hour day.
How many Starlink satellites are in the sky right now? ›Those lights are Starlink satellites that have been launched into space by Elon Musk's company SpaceX since 2019. There are about 3,500 Starlink satellites currently in space, and if the sun is positioned just right, they can be seen in the night sky.
Who owns the Starlink satellites? ›For the time being, SpaceX is the leader in this new internet age. The company is responsible for almost half of the total active satellites orbiting Earth, and its Starlink internet service, which is now available in dozens of countries, hit 1 million users in December.
How many satellites are in the sky? ›
This statistic illustrates the number of active satellites from 1957 to 2022, broken down by year. In 2022, there were an estimated total of 6,905 active satellites orbiting the Earth, an increase of 2,105 active satellites on 2021's value.
Which planet has the largest number of satellites 2022? ›Hint: In our solar system, the planet Saturn has the highest number of satellites in comparison with any other planets. Since, the Saturn has 82 satellites around it.
How many inactive satellites are in space 2022? ›All of the orbiting satellites are working, aren't they? As we noted earlier, of all the objects launched into space UNOOSA records indicate there are 8 261 satellites currently orbiting the Earth at the moment. There are also over 100 objects orbiting other bodies such as the Moon, Mars, etc.
Which planet has no satellites? ›Of the terrestrial (rocky) planets of the inner solar system, neither Mercury nor Venus have any moons at all, Earth has one and Mars has its two small moons. In the outer solar system, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have dozens of moons.
What is the name of the largest satellite on Earth? ›The largest artificial satellite is the International Space Station (ISS), the first components of which were launched on 20 November 1998.
Are satellites bigger than planets? ›A planet usually has at least around 10,000 times the mass of any natural satellites that orbit it, with a correspondingly much larger diameter.
Do satellites run out? ›Like every other machine, satellites do not last forever. Whether their job is to observe weather, measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or point away from Earth to study the stars, eventually all satellites grow old, wear out, and die, just like old washing machines and vacuum cleaners.
How many military satellites does USA have? ›There were a lot of United States military satellite projects that were started in the 1950s. Now, there are 123 military satellites run by the United States that orbit the Earth.
How many satellites does the US have in space right now? ›Which Country Has the Most Satellites Orbiting Earth? The United States has the most satellites orbiting Earth. The 2,804 satellites that are owned or operated by an entity from the U.S. make up more than half of the total amount of space satellites that are currently in orbit.