U.S.[84] & China [62] Dominated Rocket Launch Industry in 2022, Russia [22] a Distant Third

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U.S. & Dominated Launch Industry in 2022, Russia a Distant Third

Part I of II SpaceX conducted its 61st launch of 2022 on Thursday to wrap up a record year that saw 186 orbital launch

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A SpaceX Faclon 9 launches the O3b mPOWER FM21 and O3b mPower FM22 communications satellites from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 16, 2022. (Credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX conducted its 61st launch of 2022 on Thursday to wrap up a record year that saw 186 orbital launch attempts worldwide. A Falcon 9 booster launched the EROS-C3 for ImageSat of Israel from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Let’s take a look at launch totals worldwide and how the top three nations — United States, China and Russia — faired this year. We will look at launches by other nations in a future post.


Orbital Launches
2022: 186 (178-7-1)
2021: 146 (135-10-1)

There were 178 successful launches, seven failures and one partial failure in 2022. There were 146 launch attempts last year.

The United States and China combined for 151 launches, with 146 successes, four failures and one partial failure. That represents 81.2% of all launch attempts. The number rise to 173 launches (93%) when Russia’s 22 launches are included.

Orbital Launches by Nation

Nation	Successes	Failures	Partial Failures	Total	Percentage of Total
United States	84	2	1	87	46.8
China	62	2	0	64	34.4
Russia	22	0	0	22	11.8
Europe	4	1	0	5	2.7
India	4	1	0	5	2.7
Iran	1	0	0	1	0.5
South Korea	1	0	0	1	0.5
Japan	0	1	0	1	0.5
Total	178	7	1	186	100

The rest of the world launched 13 times, with 10 successes and three failures. Japan’s lone launch attempt of the year failed.

South Korea conducted its first successful launch of a domestically manufactured booster when a Nuri rocket roared off the pad at the Naro Space Center on June 21. It was the second launch for the booster, which failed on its maiden flight in 2021.

For a recap of Europe’s launch year, see Vega-C Launch Failure Ends Frustrating Year for Europe.

The final Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. (Credit: ULA)
U.S. Launches
2022: 87 (84-2-1)
2021: 51 (48-3-0)

SpaceX’s 61 launches were nearly double the 31 flights the company conducted in 2021. That amounts to 75% of the 40 additional launch attempts conducted worldwide this year.

U.S. Launches by Booster

Company/Agency	Launch Vehicle(s)	Successes	Failures	Partial Failures	Total
SpaceX	Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy	61	0	0	61
Rocket Lab	Electron	9	0	0	9
United Launch Alliance	Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy	8	0	0	8
Astra Space	Rocket 3.3	1	2	0	3
Northrop Grumman	Antares	2	0	0	2
Virgin Orbit	LauncherOne	2	0	0	2
NASA	Space Launch System	1	0	0	0
Firefly Aerospace	Firefly Alpha	0	0	1	1
	Total:	83	2	1	86

Thirty-four Falcon 9 flights launched 1,722 Starlink broadband satellites. The company has launched 3,666 Starlink spacecraft since February 2018. SpaceX also launched more than 400 satellites on three Transporter rideshare missions this year. Total payloads launched by SpaceX exceeded 2,000 in 2022.

(For more information on SpaceX’s Transporter missions, see Who Launched What on SpaceX’s Five Transporter Missions.)

SpaceX launched 40 broadband satellites for OneWeb, which is a rival of Starlink. It was the first of three launches of OneWeb satellites booked after plans to launch on six Soyuz boosters fell through after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

NASA launched the much-delayed Space Launch System for the first time. An Orion spacecraft conducted a 25.5-day flight test to the moon in preparation for flying astronauts on the Artemis II mission.

Rocket Lab set a new record of nine launches in one year. Firefly Aerospace orbited satellites for the first time on the second flight of its Firefly Apha booster. And United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched an uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).

Long March 5B launches the Mengtian space station module on Oct. 31, 2022. (Credit: CNSA)
Chinese Launches
2022: 64 (62-2)
2021: 56 (53-3)

China set a new record with 64 launch attempts in 2022. The figure included 62 successes and two failures.

The government-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) accounted for 51 of the 64 launches this year. Six other companies launched 11 times, with nine successes and two failures.

Chinese Launches, 2022

Launch Vehicle Family	Company	Successes	Failures	Total
Long March 2	CASC*	24	0	24
Long March 4	CASC*	11	0	11
Kuaizhou	ExPace+	5	0	5
Long March 3	CASC*	4	0	4
Long March 6++	CASC*	4	0	4
Long March 11	CASC*	4	0	4
Long March 7	CASC*	3	0	3
Ceres-1	Galactic Energy	2	0	2
Long March 5	CASC*	2	0	2
Jielong-3+	China Rocket^	1	0	1
Long March 8	CASC*	1	0	1
ZK-1A+	CAS Space**	1	0	1
Hyperbola-1	i-Space	0	1	1
Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2)+	LandSpace	0	1	1
	Total:	62	2	64

* China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
+ China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) subsidiary
^ China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
** Spinoff of Chinese Academy of Sciences
+ Maiden launch
++ Maiden launch of Long March 6A
CASC’s Long March 6A, China Rocket’s Jielong-3 and CAS Space’s ZK-1A made successful maiden flights in 2022. LandSpace’s Zhuque-2 booster failed on its first flight.

China launched two crews, two modules and two resupply ships to its Tiangong space station. The modules completed initial construction of the orbiting facility. These flights will be discussed in greater depth below.

The Soyuz MS-22 rocket is launched to the International Space Station with Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in March 2023. (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian Launches
2022: 22-0-0
2021: 25 (24-0-1)

Russia’s launch total would have been higher if not for a rupture in relations with the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The launches of six Soyuz boosters carrying more than 200 OneWeb broadband satellites were canceled. The European Space Agency (ESA) also canceled the launch of its ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover aboard a Russian Proton booster.

Russian Launches, 2022

Company/Agency	Launch Site	Launches
Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation	Plesetsk	10
Roscosmos	Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny	10
Russian Aerospace Forces	Plesetsk	1
Arianespace	French Guiana	1
	Total	22

Four different variants of the Soyuz rocket were used for 20 launches. The Angara 1.2 and Proton boosters flew one time apiece.

Russia put 85 spacecraft into orbit in 2022. The figure includes 34 OneWeb satellites launched aboard a single Soyuz ST-B rocket before cooperation on launches with Europe ended. Another 17 spacecraft were launched on a rideshare mission by a Soyuz-2.1b booster.

Launches were conducted by Roscosmos, Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation, Russian Aerospace Forces and Arianespace from four different spaceports in three countries.

 

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