The Union of Concerned Scientists Satellite Database has compiled a list with names of those countries which have flagged success in space with their respective satellites. Right now, there are nearly 6,000 satellites circling our tiny planet. About 60% of those are defunct satellites—space junk— and roughly 40% are operational.
According to the report, there were 2,666 operational satellites circled the globe in April of 2020.
The United States, China, and Russia top the list of countries with operational satellites. The U.S. is operating nearly half of all satellites—1,308 as of April 2020. China trails the U.S. with approximately 356 satellites. Taking third spot, Russia has 167 satellites in operation, and the UK comes in at a close fourth with 130 satellites. So, these five countries operate roughly 76% of the world’s satellites.
Japan has 78 and India has 58.
Of these all satellites, 339 are for military use, 133 for civil, 1440 for commercial use and 318 for mixed use.
India's space journey began on 21 November 1963 when India launched an American-made two-stage sounding rocket 'Nike-Apache' from Thumba, a fishing area in Kerala. This was India's first step towards space. At that time, India neither had the necessary facilities nor the infrastructure for this launch. Since there was no building at the Thumba rocket launch station, the local bishop's house was made the director's office. The building of the ancient St Mary Magdalene Church became the control room and smoke was seen with the naked eye. Even rocket parts and space equipment were transported to the launch site by bullock carts and cycles.
On 16 November 2013, India wrote a new chapter in the history of space science when the space journey of PSLV C-25 Mars Orbiter (Mangalyaan) started from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 2:39 am on this day. With its arrival on Mars on 24 September 2014, India became the first country to be successful in such a mission for the first time. With this, it became the fourth country in the world to send such a mission after Soviet Russia, NASA and the European Space Agency. Apart from this, it is also the cheapest mission sent to Mars.
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