The global space economy showed strong growth in the public and private sectors in 2023 according to The Space Foundation in its annual Space Report.
“Our annual global space economy analysis highlights the increasing importance of the space industry across both public and private sectors,” said Heather Pringle, CEO of Space Foundation in a press release that the organization released on July 18th. “Established subsectors and emerging markets cover an expanding range of space applications in our daily lives and push the boundary of what’s possible on and off Earth.”
The global space economy grew 7.4% to $570 billion in 2023
Commercial revenues topped $445 billion, 78% of the space economy
Government space spending maintained double-digit growth for a third year
— Space Foundation, Space Report
This news bodes well for the Space Coast’s economy, given its position of hosting the most active spaceport in the world. With multiple launch services companies active here in addition to NASA and commercial space leader SpaceX, a growing space economy globally will certainly be felt here at home in Florida.
Highlights of the Space Foundation Report
The following is an excerpt of the The Space Foundation’s press release:
Corporate earnings: Commercial revenues grew 5.4% in 2023 to $445B. These revenues made up 78% of the total space economy—the same ratio as in 2022. Some sectors of the commercial space grew rapidly:
The Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) sector was the largest earner, accounting for $209B in revenues—$11B more than 2022.
Smaller sectors in the industry saw more significant year-over-year growth. Ground stations and equipment grew 19%, while commercial satellite manufacturing and launch revenues doubled in the last two years.
Government spending: Government spending on civil and military space programs grew 11% in 2023 to $125B. For the third year in a row, government space budgets saw double digit percentage increases, driven by significant growth in military space budgets, which made up just under half of total government space spending. Some of the notable government spending increases include:
United States: In 2023, the US military space budget was estimated at $46B, 18% higher than in 2022 and approximately 80% of the total global spend on military space programs.
Japan: The Ministry of Defense had the second-largest growth in military spending, increasing their space budget to ¥128B ($81M)–a 32% year-over-year increase.
Poland: The country’s space budget has ballooned from $2.7M in 2017 to $59M in 2023, not including ESA and EUMETSAT contributions.
France: The government invested heavily in its national space program, growing its domestic civil space budget 40% to €1.5B ($1.63B).
Taiwan: Increased its overall space budget by approximately 90%, Conn said.
Who Are The Space Foundation?
Founded in 1983, The SpaceFoundation is an American nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate for all sectors of the global space industry through space awareness activities, educational programs, and major industry events. They host the annual Space Symposium in Colorado attended by all of the major industry players, and over time, the Space Symposium has been a wellspring for announcements and news about upcoming projects in and of itself.
The Space Foundation also hosts Yuri’s Night, the annual celebration of human spaceflight that honors Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit the Earth. Celebrated at multiple locations annually, Yuri’s Night celebrations have been a regular part of the Space Coast social scene at their events at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center.
SpaceX Starlink 6-62, as seen just south of the Cocoa Beach Pier. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Beneath a full moon this evening, SpaceX launched another twenty-three Starlink Mini V2 satellites to orbit after successfully launching the Starlink 6-62 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station this evening.
Liftoff was at 10:35 PM EDT. Around 8.3 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster used for the mission, tail number B1080, touched down safely on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. After landing, B1080 has now flown eight times.
After a few days, the droneship will return to Port Canaveral, and B1080 will be transported to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center. There, it will be inspected, refurbished, and prepared for its next mission.
Payload
23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service. They are manufactured at SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington.
Booster B1080.8
As of tonight, SpaceX’s Booster B1080.8 has flown the following missions successfully:
Booster B1080
Flight Number
Mission
Date
1
Axiom-2
May 21, 2023
2
Euclid
July 1, 2023
3
Starlink 6-11
August 27 2023
4
Starlink 6-24
October 22, 2023
5
Axiom-3
January 18, 2024
6
CRS-30
March 21, 2024
7
Starlink 6-52
April 18, 2024
8
Starlink 6-62
May 22, 2024
Booster B1080 Flight Record as of May 22, 2024
Launch Replay
If you missed the launch (or were watching in-person) here’s a replay of the SpaceX coverage of the launch.
SpaceX plans to launch another set of Starlink satellites down the Bimini Highway to join Group 6. Launch will be in late afternoon or early evening. Check back at Talk of Titusville for a launch preview on Thursday May 23.
Mission: Starlink 6-63
Date: NET May 23, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 06:45 PM – 10:45 PM EDT
Payload: 23 communications satellites
As of May 22, 2024. Subject to change without notice.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
SpaceX will launch another 23 Starlink Mini V2 satellites in the later evening hours tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens at 10:33 PM EDT and extends to 2:33 AM EDT Thursday. The booster used for the mission will land downrange on the droneship ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, so there will not be a sonic boom on the Space Coast tonight.
Payload
23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service. They are manufactured at SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington.
Tonight’s forecast is as good as it gets this time of year on the Space Coast: the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force has forecast only a 5% chance of a weather-related range violation (POV), meaning that they expect a 95% chance for acceptable weather through the launch window. The same forecast remains effectively the same should technical reasons delay tonight’s launch: a 5% POV with a 95% chance of acceptable conditions on the range.
The 45th provides a good description of conditions in their forecast discussion: “East-northeasterly winds are expected today around an area of low pressure to the east of Florida that will continue to drift farther east through the day. With the onshore flow, a few showers or a storm may move across the Spaceport at times, with the highest chances midday with the development of the east coast sea breeze. As this feature moves farther out to sea on Wednesday, it will pull in drier air that will limit shower and storm chances along the coast for mid-week.”
Sky Cover
The National Weather Center forecasts that roughly 15% of the sky will be covered by clouds during the launch window. These estimates are often hit-or-miss and are highly local, but are interesting if you are planning to view the launch in person.
Trajectory
Falcon 9 will take a southeasterly direction tonight, as is customary for Group 6 Starlink missions.
Given that the flight is immediately offshore with no return to launch site, there will be no sonic boom from the launch on the Space Coast.
Booster: B-1080
According to SpaceX on the official mission page, the booster used tonight will be on its eighth mission: “This is the eighth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched ESA Euclid, Ax-2, Ax-3, CRS-30, and three Starlink missions.”
That’s B-1080, which last flew on April 18th.
Booster B-1080, launching Starlink 6-52 on April 18th. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Booster B1080
Flight Number
Mission
Date
1
Axiom-2
May 21, 2023
2
Euclid
July 1, 2023
3
Starlink 6-11
August 27 2023
4
Starlink 6-24
October 22, 2023
5
Axiom-3
January 18, 2024
6
CRS-30
March 21, 2024
7
Starlink 6-52
April 18, 2024
Booster B1080 Flight Record as of April 18, 2024
Countdown Timeline
There are key events in the countdown that you may hear called out in launch coverage.
Remember that once Propellant Loading (T-minus thirty-eight minutes) starts, Falcon 9 is committed to the launch attempt. Because of the nature of the cryogenic fuels used to power the rockets, any hold precludes a later launch attempt the same day. While it only rarely happens, there have been occasions where that has happened, and a launch scrub is called for the day’s attempt.
SpaceX provides the following countdown milestones on their mission information page:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:38:00
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00
RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00
1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00
2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00
Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
00:01:00
Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00
Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03
Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00
Falcon 9 liftoff
Typical SpaceX countdown timeline is presented for information purposes only.
Timeline of Falcon 9 Flight
SpaceX has published a timeline of expected events during the mission:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:00:00
Liftoff
00:01:11
Max-Q (Moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:26
1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:30
1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:36
2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:56
Fairing deployment
00:06:09
1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:33
1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:59
1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:22
1st stage landing
00:08:41
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:08
2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:10
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:17
Starlink satellites deploy
via: SpaceX
All events up to the end of the 1st stage entry burn should be visible for launch spectators watching the launch in person, so long as clouds are not blocking the viewer’s line of sight. Fairing separation is generally only visible during daytime launches and then only using advanced optics like high-powered binoculars or a super-telephoto lens (500mm+).
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-62 This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about five minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Space Launch Schedule, an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play.
Launch Viewing: In Person
This evening’s planned launch is from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are:
Given the late hour of the launch, most local businesses will be closed for the night. Space Bar may still be open for the beginning of the launch window. Call ahead if you are interested in viewing from there to be sure.
The Space Bar ($$$) – atop the Courtyard Marriott near Kennedy Parkway
New York New York ($$) – on the Indian River with an outdoor seating area. Is family-friendly.
Shiloh’s ($$$) — located on the Indian River with an outdoor deck overlooking KSC/CCSFS
Other Viewing Locations
Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Pier, Jetty Park Pier will have indirect views, meaning that liftoff will not be visible, but after the rocket clears the pad and any ground obstructions, you will be able to see Falcon 9 ascending clearly assuming there are no clouds between you and the rocket.
Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.
Jetty Park will be closed at the time of the launch, but viewers can walk up the beach to the area.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time
The fourth of four informational sessions regarding the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF) ongoing Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for a potential launch pad at the Cape for SpaceX’s Starship will be held online tonight.
Officials from the Department of the Air Force, the US Space Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, the US Coast Guard, NASA, and the US Coast Guard will be present to answer questions from members of the public who are interested in learning more about the DAF / SpaceX proposed action to lease SLC-37 to SpaceX once Delta IV Heavy launch activities conclude over the next several weeks, or to build a new launch pad between SLC-37 and SLC-40. That pad would be named Space Launch Complex 50, or SLC-50. Another option is no action, meaning no Starship launch activities from the Cape.
Option 1 at a Glance: Use Current SLC-37
Option 1: Re-engineer and utilize existing pad LC-37. In the upper part of the photo is the dormant LC-37A, which would be included. Photo: Google Maps
Option 2 at a Glance: Build a New Launch Pad, SLC-50
Approximate location of a new launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station that would be used for SpaceX Starship if it is constructed. Photo: Google Maps. Graphics: Talk of Titusville
In-Depth Looks
Below are two links that can provide much information about the Proposed Action. First, the official site for the EIS has a great deal of information, and in particular, a PDF file of the information displayed at the in-person meetings can be downloaded. The second is our informational article published earlier this month. In it, Talk of Titusville gives additional information regarding Starship, Starship’s propellant, the risk of pollution from them, and the Proposed Actions.
After the final Public Meeting on March 12, a relatively quiet period will follow where studies will be conducted and a draft Environmental Impact Statement is created.
A Draft EIS is planned to be released in December 2024.
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