The myth that ‘no one owns the sky’ was dispelled a long time ago, on October 4th, 1957, when the Soviets launched the first satellite to orbit space, the Sputnik 1.
Since then, governments and private corporations filled the space with an outstanding number of satellites that reached 10,019 active satellites in 2024, according to Look Up Space, with 6,646 belonging to SpaceX! That’s a remarkable increase compared to 2019 when 4987 orbited Earth. Most of this trend is highly influenced by private companies (in particular one company) that have the resources to launch satellites into space.
There are several uses for satellites orbiting in space; those include communication, earth observational, navigation, weather, astronomical, and biosatellites.
Google Earth Real-Time Satellites in Space
What country owns the most military satellites in space?
Unsurprisingly, in terms of military presence in space, the United States has the most satellites in space as of 2024, with a total number of 247 military satellites, according to World Population Review.
Following the US, China owns 157 military satellites, Russia has 110, France only 17, and Israel has 12. Other countries that own military satellites include Italy, India, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
The most remarkable data about satellites orbiting space is that most of these satellites are not operational. In 2023, just 67.28% of the orbiting satellites were, in fact, operational.
