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For at least one year, 2024 will be in the books with the most orbital launches, with 259 attempts along with four Starship launches, two of which Wikipedia counts* as orbital launches. 2025 could see a new record set and potentially three additional countries joining the orbital launch club, though not Canada.
2024 was the most prolific launch year on record with eight nations making 259 launch attempts led by the United States (U.S.), in particular SpaceX, who accounted for more launch attempts then the rest of the world combined.
2024 Launch attempts by country: U.S. (156), China (68), Russia (17), Japan (7), India (5), Iran (4), Europe (3), North Korea (1)
Ten year launch attempts:
| Year | Total Launch Attempts | Failures (Including Partial) | Top Launching Country (Including failures) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 261 | 8 | US (156) – 136 SpaceX (Including 2 Starship) – 68 China |
| 2023 | 223 | 11 | US (116) |
| 2022 | 186 | 7 | US (87) |
| 2021 | 146 | 10 | China (56) |
| 2020 | 114 | 10 | US (44) |
| 2019 | 102 | 5 | China (34) |
| 2018 | 114 | 3 | China (39) |
| 2017 | 91 | 8 | US (30) |
| 2016 | 85 | 3 | Tie – US/China (22) |
| 2015 | 87 | 7 | Russia (27) |
2025 Could be see even more launches
In 2025 SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer, said the company is aiming for 175 – 180 Falcon launches. China is planning more launches with new variants of the Long March planned as well as entrants from the commercial sector.
There are currently 10 countries in recent years who’ve demonstrated the ability to launch payloads to orbit. This includes the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, India, Iran, Europe, North Korea, South Korea and Israel.
Attempting to join them this year are multiple efforts from Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Australia’s Gilmour Space is likely to be the first to make a launch attempt, possibly this month. The company has received permission from the Australian government to attempt to test launch their Eris Block 1 launched from the Bowen Island spaceport.
Germany could see as many as three companies attempting orbital launch, HyImpulse from Esrange, Sweden, Isar Aerospace from Andøya, Norway, and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) from SaxaVord, United Kingdom and Andøya, Norway.
Lastly, the United Kingdom could see two companies make attempts, Astraius, and Orbex. Astraius is attempting to launch the Hera II from Prestwick Spaceport on a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. Orbex is attempting to launch their Prime launch vehicle from SaxaVord.
While there will be no orbital launch attempts in Canada this year, Montreal area Reaction Dynamics is expected to perform a suborbital launch test from Australia. Canada’s other launch company that is actively discussing their efforts in public, NordSpace, could attempt a test of its launch vehicle Taiga in 2025, trying to reach the 100km Karman line, the edge of space.
Canada’s only spaceport in development, Spaceport Nova Scotia, being developed by Maritime Launch Services, is still looking for international customers as it slowly builds infrastructure. The company expects at least one orbital launch attempt in 2026.
As evidenced by efforts globally, Canada is falling further behind in the launch development business in part due to lack of investment from investors and government. While various government levels have supported launch in Canada to some extent and made necessary regulatory changes, unlike other space segments, government as a customer has not materialized even though other countries are doing so.
Related to this, the Ottawa Citizen today reported that the Department of National Defence sees a spaceport in Nova Scotia as an asset.
Canadian suborbital launches
There were 67 suborbital launch attempts this past year not including 301 attributed to Iran for the strikes on Israel. Of the 67 launch attempts, there were 11 attempts and successes of the Black Brant rocket developed in Canada by Magellan Aerospace. All of those launches were for foreign customers from foreign launch sites.
* Wikipedia: For a launch attempt to be considered orbital it must be trying to achieve a positive perigee. For this reason the fourth and fifth flight tests of Starship are not included in the orbital statistics for 2024.
