Claude Lafleur

In the first month of 2026, 24 rockets placed 352 satellites into Earth orbit. Here are the statistics for that month:

Here is a summary of space activities for January 2026. For a detailed summary of 2025, see the document “2025, the Year in Review” at patreon.com/voyagedanslespace (freely available):

Now available for free, my 70-page report: “2025, The Year in Review A comprehensive guide to space activities” at

www.patreon.com/c/voyagedanslespace

In November, 26 rockets launched 426 spacecraft. The number of rockets launched is close to the record set in 2024 (260 vs. 264), while the number of spacecraft exceeds the record (3576 vx. 2870 spacecraft). The table below summarizes the month's news:

As of November 30th, 293 rockets had launched 4,060 spacecraft into space. In the 20th century, approximately 1,500 spacecraft were launched per decade. Now, we're launching almost three times that number in a single year! Here are the latest figures:

On September 29, 2019, Elon Musk declared: “I have this mantra: ‘If a schedule’s long, it’s wrong, if it’s tight, it’s right. If the design takes a long time to build, it’s the wrong design.” So, maybe after six years, it is time to conclude that…

On November 21, the first booster in the third generation of Starship vehicles suffered significant damage during a test, adding to doubts about the vehicle’s development schedule. The lower section of booster 18 appeared to burst.

Here are the main space events that occurred in October:

During October, 26 rockets launched 426 spacecraft. So far this year, 3,576 spacecraft have been launched, surpassing last year's record of 2,870. 260 rockets were launched, compared to 263 in 2024. Here are the latest statistics.

Nice stats (1 of 2) So far in 2025, a record 3,430 spacecraft have been launched, including a record 2,400 Starlink, representing 70% of all spacecraft launched. Another 1,030 spacecraft have been launched, mainly by SpaceX (571) and China (306).

Nice stats (2 of 2) Since 2019, SpaceX has launched 10,030 Starlink, while another 14,158 spacecraft have been launched since Sputnik.

Here are the main space activities for September 2025, a month in which 32 rockets launched 419 spacecraft.

Here is a summary of the 11 Starship test flights. These 11 tests have a cumulative success rate of 70%, as shown in the following table:

Here are the latest statistics on space activity for 2025 (as of September 30). The 234 rockets launched delivered 3,150 spacecraft, more than the 2,870 spacecraft launched in 2024 (a record year).

Just published on The Space Review my report:
How China is preparing to dominate the world

www.thespacereview.com/article/5073/1

Anna Menon is reportedly the first astronaut-candidate to be selected that has already flown into space. This is a mistake. In 1992, Marc Garneau, who had flown as a Payload Specialist in 1984 (STS 41-G), was recruited as part of the 14th astronaut selection.

As of September 20, China has conducted 56 launches, delivering 252 spacecraft, as reported in the following table:

This morning, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites (Group 10-57), which marks the 300th Starlink launch since 2019; 9,626 satellites were launched as of today.

August saw significant space activity, with 344 spacecraft launched by 29 rockets. As always, SpaceX led the way (with its Starlink launches), followed by China, which also made significant progress in its lunar program.

As of August 31, 202 rockets have launched 2,730 spacecraft. At this rate, 300 rockets will deliver more than 4,000 spacecraft by the end of 2025, or 15% more rockets launching 40% more satellites than in 2024 (a record year).