High above us, swarms of artificial satellites orbit the Earth to enable global communication, map the planet, check on the weather, assist in navigation, provide assistance during disasters, and monitor crops and military forces. Building satellites, rockets, and human piloted spaceships is a big and profitable business.
The former Soviet Union put into orbit Sputnik1, the first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. On January 31, 1958, only a few months after the launch of Sputnik1, the United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1. Clearly, the Soviet Union and America were in the Space Race, an expensive competition for international prestige.
The Space Race was an important aspect of the Cold War. Initially, only America and the former Soviet Union had the technology and money to launch satellites. After the USA won the Space Race by landing humans on the Moon in July 1969, Russian and America companies, along with others in France , Japan , China , India , and Britain , wanted to get into the growing commercial satellite business.
Satellites are usually placed in orbit anywhere from 300 to 35,000 kilometers above the earth’s surface, and depending on their weight, they can cost from $10 million to $400 million to launch. The cost to build a satellite can be the same or more than the launch cost. The largest satellite currently orbiting the Earth is the huge International Space Station, which was mainly built from large modules launched on the American Space Shuttle.
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, became the leader in commercial space launches during the 1990s. In 2003, humans first flew on China ’s Shenzhou spaceship. During 2004, the privately owned SpaceShipOne made its first piloted flights into space. One by one, rich tourists visit the International Space Station. All these new developments have added new excitement to the satellite business. Many companies are planning privately owned space stations, and some are even thinking about putting tourists on that enormous natural satellite called the Moon.
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