History
During the early years of spaceflight only nation states had the resources to develop and fly spacecraft. Both the U.S. space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military (ex–air force) pilots as astronauts. During this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches.
In the 1980s, the European Space Agency created Arianespace, the world's first commercial space transportation company, and, following the Challenger disaster, the American government deregulated the American space transportation market as well. In the 1990s the Russian government sold their majority stake in RSC Energia to private investors (although it has recently renationalized the Russian space sector in 2013–2014.) These events for the first time allowed private organizations to purchase, develop and offer space launch services; beginning the period of private spaceflight in the late-1980s and early-1990s.
Satellite manufacturers Top 10 satellite manufacturers for 2024: Company Location No of satellites launched Comments Airbus Defence and Space Europe (France/Germany/Spain/United Kingdom) formerly Astrium OHB SE Europe (Germany/Italy/Luxembourg/Sweden/France/Belgium) Boeing Defense, Space & Security United States formerly Boeing Integrated Defense Systems INVAP Argentina 6 INVAP is developing new satellites ARSAT-3 SAOCOM SABIA-Mar JSC Information Satellite Systems Russia 1200 formerly NPO PM Lockheed Martin Space United States Northrop Grumman United States formerly Orbital ATKRaytheonUnited StatesOne of worlds largest space sensor providers. Maxar Space United States 285 formerly Space Systems Loral, formally SSL, subsidiary of Maxar Technologies Thales Alenia Space Europe (France/Italy/United Kingdom/Spain/Belgium/Germany/Poland) formerly Alcatel Alenia Space
In addition to those above, the following companies have successfully built and launched (smaller) satellite platforms:
Company Location No of satellites launched Comments AeroAstro, Inc. United States Closed Argotec Italy CubeSats and Small Satellites Astranis United States 1 Geostationary & Small-scale Satellites British Aerospace United Kingdom purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, to form BAE Systems CBERS Brazil China 5 EnduroSatEurope (Bulgaria)CubeSats and Nanosatellites Fairchild Space and Electronics Division United States sold to Matra Marconi Space, then sold to Orbital Sciences Corporation Fokker Space & Systems Netherlands then Dutch Space, now part of EADS Astrium Satellites GAUSS Srl Italy 9 CubeSats and Small Satellites (<50 kg) General Electric United States then merged into Martin Marietta, now part of Lockheed Martin Hawker Siddeley Dynamics United Kingdom now part of EADS Astrium Satellites Dhruva Space India Nano Satellites (>8 to <35 kg) GomSpace Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden Nano and Micro Satellites (1 to 50 kg) for global tracking, Earth observation and science, communications, constellations, Internet-of-Things, defence and security, and deep-space missions. Hera SystemsUnited States1Smart satellite bus provider. Spacecraft manufacturing and integration services, for small satellites (50–250 kg). Hughes Aircraft United States purchased by Boeing IHI Corporation Japan In-Space Missions United KingdomLaunching first satellite in Q2 2020 Innovative Solutions in Space Netherlands 490 CubeSats Libre Space Foundation Greece 3 CubeSats, PocketQubes NPO Lavochkin Russia Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan Northrop Grumman Space Technology United States NanoAvionics United States90 CubeSats and Small Sats Pumpkin, Inc. United States CubeSat Kit OneWeb United Kingdom 640 OneWeb satellite constellation Planet Labs United States ≥592 Earth observation satellite constellation Philco Ford United States then Ford Aerospace, now Space Systems/Loral QinetiQ Space N.V. Belgium 3 then Verhaert SpaceReflex AerospaceGermany1SmallSats (75–500 kg), SIGI, launched January 2025. Rockwell United States purchased by Boeing RKK Energiya Russia produced Sputnik 1 Satrec Initiative Korea 5 SPAR Aerospace Canada 8 bought by MacDonald Dettwiler Sierra Space United States formerly SpaceDev, owned by Sierra Space SpaceX United States 6700 largest commercial satellite constellation operator in the world with the Starlink constellation Spectrum Astro United States bought by General Dynamics Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd United Kingdom now part of Airbus Defence & Space Swales Aerospace United States bought by Alliant Techsystems, now Orbital ATK TRANSPACE Technologies India On-Board Satellite Systems Fabrication, Testing and Reliability Analysis TRW United States now part of Northrop Grumman Space Technology TsSKB-Progress Russia manufacturer of Bion-M, Foton-M, Resurs-P and Persona Xovian India Nanosat and services York Space Systems United States 1 Up to 250 kg spacecraft production and launch services Yuzhnoye Design Bureau Ukraine
Launch vehicle manufacturers and providers of third party services
Company Location No. of successful launches Comments Arianespace Europe (France/Germany/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland/Sweden/Spain/Netherlands/Norway/Denmark) 244/256 Ariane (rocket family) Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering Netherlands Suborbital student-built sounding rockets ISRO India 65/72 PSLV, GSLV, LVM3, SSLV COSMOS International Russia/Germany commercialises the Kosmos-3M launcher Eurockot Launch Services Europe (Germany/France/United Kingdom/Spain/Netherlands/Russia) 29/31 owned by EADS Astrium International Launch Services United States Russia 97/100 Iranian Space Agency Iran 4/15 InnospaceSouth KoreaSuccessfully done Sub-Orbital Launch (HANBIT-TLV Mar. 2023) Under Development (Hybrid Rocket) HANBIT-Nano
HANBIT-Micro
HANBIT-Mini ISC Kosmotras Russia/Ukraine/Kazakhstan Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan 81/85 Northrop Grumman United States 81/90 manufacturer of Antares, Minotaur and Pegasus PLD Space Spain manufacturer of Miura 1 and Miura 5Rocket Lab New Zealand/United States 46/50 manufacturer of Electron launch vehicle Space OneJapanmanufacturer of the KAIROS launch vehicle SpaceX United States / Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Starship Sea Launch United States/Russia/Ukraine/Norway 32/36 provider of Sea Launch and Land Launch service Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau Russia commercialises the Volna and Shtil' launchers NPO Mashinostroyeniya Russia commercialises the Strela launcher Starsem Europe (Germany/France/United Kingdom/Spain/Netherlands/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland/Sweden/Norway/Denmark/ and Russia) commercialises the Soyuz launcher The Spaceship Company United States Reusable spaceship launched from the White Knight Aircraft for space tourism and zero-g experimentation TsSKB-Progress Russia manufacturer of Soyuz launch vehicle United Launch Alliance United States147/148 Vaya Space United States formerly known as Rocket Crafters, manufacturer of Dauntless United Start Launch United States Russia commercialises the Start-1 launcher Virgin Galactic United States Space Tourism Using 'The Spaceship Company spacecraftVirgin Orbit United States / United Kingdom4/6 manufacturer of LauncherOne air-launched launch vehicleBlue Origin United Statesmanufacturer of the New Shepard suborbital rocket and New GlennIndependence-X Aerospace Malaysiamanufacturer of DNLV launch vehicleBorneo SubOrbitals Malaysiamanufacturer of unnamed suborbital rocket Relativity Space United States 0/1 95% 3D printed rocket Stoke Space United States Aerospike 2nd stage engine
Commercial wings of national space agencies: Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) and Taiwan Aerospace Industry Association (TAIA) Taiwan Antrix Corporation and NSIL India
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation China
Lander, rover and probe manufacturers
Company Location No. of probes launched Comments Brown Engineering Company Huntsville, AL United States Rover for Apollo lunar program China National Space Administration China for Chang'e 3 program in 2013 Deep Space Industries Mountain View, CA United States Lavochkin Russia rovers for Lunokhod 1 NASA JPL United States for ATHLETE lunar missions, Mars Pathfinder, Opportunity and Spirit rover ISRO India Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Mars Orbiter Mission Planetary Resources Redmond, WA United States Arkyd-100 for asteroid searching
Spacecraft component manufacturers
Company Location Production NotesOrbital Machines ASTrondheim, Norway and Berlin, GermanyElectric propellant pumps for launch vehicles and spacecraftComat Flourens, France Space Equipment mechanism expert, from design to MAIT (Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, Test). SmallSat off-the-shelf solutions including ADCS (reaction wheels range), SADM, deployable structure and electric propulsion (Plasma Jet Pack)COMAT's reaction wheels and deployable antennas have been selected for use on the upcoming Kineis IoT constellation. Berlin, Germany Design, Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Verification of small satellite buses (TET-1, launched July 2012) and components. Attitude control components (reaction wheels, gyro system, GPS receiver, magnetometer) Supplier of space systems and ISS payload NightPodBradford SpaceNew York, NYSupplier of green propulsion systems, rocket engines, Sun sensors, reaction wheels, acceleration measurement units, and astronaut workstations.Over 100 thrusters in-space Dynetics Madison, AL United States used on Sundancer and Ares I Tethers Unlimited, Inc. Seattle, WA United States De-Orbiting Devices, Deployable Solar Arrays, Propulsion Systems, Radio Communications, and Robotics RUAG Space Switzerland Structures, Fairings, Mechanisms, Opto-Electronics AB 360 Space United States manufacturer of CLEPS-C100 Combined electric Propulsion systems, Adjustable Thruster Engines for Mars travel GAUSS Srl Rome, Italy Complete Space Platforms, Nanosatellites Structures and Deployers, OBDH, EPS, Radio Communications, Solar Panels and Groundstation systems GomSpace Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden 1U to 16U platforms and structures, propulsion systems, software-defined radio, S-/X-/VHF band antennas, ADCS suite, electrical power systems, solar panels, on-board computers, ground equipment etc. Andrews Space Seattle, WA United States Jena, GermanyAttitude and Orbit Control Systems (AOCS) sensors: star sensors, Sun sensors, rendezvous- and docking sensors; Optical space instruments and components: multi-spectral imager (e.g. JSS 56 for RapidEye satellite constellation), efficient radiometer (e.g. METimage), electronic as well as opto-mechanical subsystems and components for operational Earth observation (e.g. for Copernicus Sentinel missions) Pumpkin, Inc San Francisco, CA United States CubeSat Kits Mynaric Munich Germany Laser communication equipment for airborne and spaceborne communication networks, so called constellations. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Kongsberg Norway Kongsberg Adaptive Rotational Mechanism Assembly [KARMA] in configuration as Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM), used on Rosetta (spacecraft), Mars Express, Venus Express, Sentinel 1, Sentinel 3 and BepiColombo MTM. Drive electronics for Sentinel 1 and BepiColombo MTM.