The Complete Space Age · 1957 → 2026

The Space Age Index Seven decades of orbital launch programs in one place — from Sputnik and the Moon race, through the Shuttle, to the modern commercial era. Compare crewed pioneers, legendary vehicles, and today's launch providers. Pick an era below to change the entire view.

1957 Sputnik
1969 Apollo 11
1981–2011 Shuttle
2026 commercial peak
~20,000 satellites launched all-time

01 The Index

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Adjustments
✓ China opacity estimate

02 Launch Volume Across the Space Age

Global orbital launch attempts per year, 1957–2026. Watch the Cold War surge, the post-Soviet dip, and the explosive commercial takeoff after 2020.

Worldwide orbital launches per year

Stacked by era · hover any year for detail
Space Race era (1957–1975) Interim (1976–1980) Shuttle era (1981–2011) Commercial era (2012–2026)

03 Breakdowns

Composite score — stacked dimensions

How each provider earns its 100 points

Volume vs. reliability

Bubble size = total score

04 Methodology & Sources

The modern reliability index scores 2000–2026 providers across five weighted dimensions summing to 100. Historic eras are presented for context using each program's own documented record.

① Payload success 40 pts

Adjusted success rate × 40, Wilson-weighted (95% CI) so volume matters. Includes partials + China opacity estimate.

② Booster 25 pts

Reuse & recovery, ocean vs. inland disposal, toxic-propellant debris on populated land.

③ Transparency 15 pts

Disclosure speed & honesty, debris-data sharing, reporting accuracy.

④ Cadence & capability 12 pts

Launch frequency, manifest reliability, payload-class range.

⑤ Trajectory 8 pts

Accelerating, steady, or declining over the recent 18 months.

Accuracy & honest caveats: Headline counts are verified against primary launch-list records (Space Shuttle 135 flights/2 losses; Apollo, Gemini, Mercury, Saturn V, Vostok/Voskhod, N1 program records; modern providers through ~30 Apr 2026). Three soft inputs: Roscosmos since-2000 totals are aggregated/rounded; the CASC opacity figure adds an estimated 3% for documented underreporting (toggleable); and the four qualitative modern dimensions encode a defensible reading of the public record, not hard measurement. Historic and modern eras use different counting units and are not directly score-comparable — see the note above the table when viewing a historic era. This is an opinionated analytical tool, not an official registry.
Verified figures by program
  • Mercury 6 crewed US flights (1961–63), 0 fatalities. 20 program flights incl. uncrewed tests.
  • Gemini 10 crewed + 2 uncrewed flights (1964–66), all crews recovered; 2 in-flight aborts (Gemini 8, 9A).
  • Apollo 32 successes, 2 failures (Apollo 1 pad fire, Apollo 13 in-flight), 1 partial (Apollo 6); 1961–72.
  • Saturn V 13 launches, 13 orbital successes (Apollo 6 had pogo/engine issues but reached orbit), 0 losses.
  • Vostok/Voskhod (USSR crewed) 11 success, 2 partial, 3 unsuccessful across 1960–66 (per documented list).
  • N1 (Soviet Moon rocket) 4 launches, 4 failures, program cancelled 1974. The Saturn V's counterpart that never flew successfully.
  • Space Shuttle 135 launches, 133 successes, 2 catastrophic losses (Challenger 1986 ascent, Columbia 2003 re-entry), 14 fatalities.
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 family 645 (642 success) + Falcon Heavy 12/12 + Starship dev flights, through 30 Apr 2026.
  • CASC / Long March 640 all-time (620 success, 11 fail, 9 partial = 96.9%) as of 25 Apr 2026; since-2000 subset used.
  • ULA Atlas V 108 + Delta IV 45 + Vulcan 4; zero complete failures, 4 partials.
  • Rocket Lab Electron 87 orbital (83 success, 4 fail) + 8 HASTE suborbital.
  • Others Arianespace, Roscosmos (Soyuz+Proton, approx.), ISRO, Blue Origin, Firefly, EU newcomers — per launch-list records.
Cross-referenced against Wikipedia launch-list pages (sourced from NASA, CNSA, ULA, SpaceX, Gunter's Space Page), SpaceNews, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, Britannica.