Space Economy

When these happened

31 dated records from 1962 to 2031. Each is drawn as wide as its date is certain — a band is a band because nobody knows the year, not because the drawing is imprecise.

31 shown · 31 dated · 0 cannot be placed on an axis · Approximate or contested. Draw a band and do not sharpen its edges.

In order31

1962-07-10Telstar 1 relays the first live transatlantic television
It happened, and the record is settled.
1962-08-31The Communications Satellite Act creates a commercial satellite operator
It happened, and the record is settled.
1965-04-06Intelsat I (Early Bird) becomes the first commercial geostationary satellite
It happened, and the record is settled.
1972-07-23ERTS-1, later Landsat 1, begins the civil land-imaging record
It happened, and the record is settled.
1978Kessler and Cour-Palais publish the collision cascade argument
It happened, and the record is settled.
1978-02-22The first Navstar GPS satellite launches
It happened, and the record is settled.
1980-03Arianespace is founded as the first commercial launch services company
It happened, and the record is settled.
1995-04-27GPS reaches full operational capability
It happened, and the record is settled.
2000-05-01Selective Availability is switched off
It happened, and the record is settled.
2001-04-28The first paying private visitor reaches the International Space Station
It happened, and the record is settled.
2007The UN adopts voluntary space debris mitigation guidelines
It happened, and the record is settled.
2007-01-11A Chinese anti-satellite test destroys the Fengyun-1C weather satellite
It happened, and the record is settled.
2008The United States opens the Landsat archive at no charge
It happened, and the record is settled.
2009-02-10Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 collide
It happened, and the record is settled.
2014-04-03Sentinel-1A launches and Copernicus data becomes free and open
It happened, and the record is settled.
2015-12-21A Falcon 9 first stage lands after an orbital launch
It happened, and the record is settled.
2016-01-26A GPS ground-system error disrupts timing receivers worldwide
It happened, and the record is settled.
2016-12-15Galileo declares initial services
It happened, and the record is settled.
2017-03-30A recovered Falcon 9 booster is flown a second time
It happened, and the record is settled.
2019-05-24The first sixty Starlink satellites are deployed
It happened, and the record is settled.
2020BeiDou-3 completes deployment and enters global service
It happened, and the record is settled.
2020-03OneWeb files for bankruptcy protection
It happened, and the record is settled.
2021-11-15A Russian anti-satellite test destroys Cosmos 1408
It happened, and the record is settled.
2022-09-29The FCC adopts a five-year post-mission disposal rule
It happened, and the record is settled.
2023-03-26OneWeb completes its first-generation constellation
It happened, and the record is settled.
2023-07A geostationary satellite antenna fails to deploy, triggering a record insurance year
It happened, and the record is settled.
2024-02The first commercial manufacturing product returns from orbit
It happened, and the record is settled.
2024-06NASA contracts for a vehicle to deorbit the International Space Station
It happened, and the record is settled.
2025-04-28Amazon begins deploying production broadband satellites
It happened, and the record is settled.
2026-07-30A constellation deployment milestone falls due
Sources disagree, or the dating is contested. Stated, not resolved.
2030 (planned)International Space Station operations are planned to enda declared target, not a prediction
A programme target or declared plan. NEVER a prediction.