A larger annual launch volume
Annual launches rose from 66 in 2006 to 329 in 2025 — 4.98× the starting level. Both are complete calendar years in this snapshot.
Launch activity · Historical analysis
Space Launches by Year: Global Trends from 2006 to 2026
A measured view of orbital and deep-space launch activity: annual volumes, long-term growth and the limits of the latest data.
RECORDED LAUNCHES2,6802006–2026 · O + D
PEAK COMPLETE YEAR3292025 · annual launches
FULL-YEAR GROWTH MULTIPLE4.98×2006 → 2025
LATEST YEAR · INCOMPLETE2542026 · year-to-date
The annual launch trajectory
Recorded launches by calendar year · UTC
Complete yearIncomplete year
Source: GCAT · Counted once per launch identifierIncludes successful and failed launches
2026 is incomplete. Its 254 recorded launches are shown as year-to-date only. No growth rate or direct comparison with the previous full year is calculated.
Reading the data
What the record shows
The busiest complete year
2025 recorded 329 launches, the highest total among complete years in the selected period.
The largest annual increase
The increase into 2025 was 67 launches (25.6%) over 2024, the largest absolute increase between adjacent complete years in this snapshot.
The underlying numbers
Annual launch counts
Year-over-year change is calculated only between adjacent complete calendar years.
| Year | Launches | YoY change | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 66 | — | Complete year |
| 2007 | 68 | +3.0% | Complete year |
| 2008 | 69 | +1.5% | Complete year |
| 2009 | 78 | +13.0% | Complete year |
| 2010 | 74 | -5.1% | Complete year |
| 2011 | 84 | +13.5% | Complete year |
| 2012 | 78 | -7.1% | Complete year |
| 2013 | 81 | +3.8% | Complete year |
| 2014 | 92 | +13.6% | Complete year |
| 2015 | 87 | -5.4% | Complete year |
| 2016 | 85 | -2.3% | Complete year |
| 2017 | 90 | +5.9% | Complete year |
| 2018 | 114 | +26.7% | Complete year |
| 2019 | 102 | -10.5% | Complete year |
| 2020 | 114 | +11.8% | Complete year |
| 2021 | 146 | +28.1% | Complete year |
| 2022 | 186 | +27.4% | Complete year |
| 2023 | 221 | +18.8% | Complete year |
| 2024 | 262 | +18.6% | Complete year |
| 2025 | 329 | +25.6% | Complete year |
| 2026 | 254 | — | Incomplete · YTD |