More Rockets, Fewer Options

The launch market hit record cadence in 2025. Satellite operators still can't get where they need to go.

By The space-quantum Desk

The FAA licensed 187 launches in fiscal year 2026 — up from less than 100 a decade earlier — yet satellite operators are waiting months, sometimes years, for a suitable ride to orbit. [1]

The problem is orbital specificity, not raw volume. Much of the industry has consolidated around a small number of frequently flown vehicles heading to similar inclinations. [1] Meanwhile, Novaspace valued the global space economy at $626 billion in 2025, forecasting 5.5% annual growth through 2034 on the way to a trillion-dollar market. [2]

Robert Sproles, chief executive of Berlin-based launch broker Exolaunch — which has placed 912 satellites into orbit across 51 launch events — frames the constraint plainly: "Demand is crazy," he said. "The demand curve is so much steeper than the supply curve." [1] His company's first eight launches of 2026 spanned four different launch vehicles from three continents, giving launch customers more predictable access to orbit as well as increased flexibility with regard to cost, schedule, and orbital destination. [1]

The tension exposes a structural gap between counting launches and counting useful ones. Diversity of destination, timing, and vehicle class matters as much as cadence — and right now, the industry is long on frequency and short on choice.

[1] Space investment reached $9 billion in 2025 — a 37% increase over 2024 — with a greater share of capital now flowing to more mature companies. [2]

The Trump administration has called for U.S. spaceports to support more than 1,000 launches and reentries annually by 2030. [1] Getting there means less concentration and more orbital variety — not just more fires.

We need those launchers to launch. We need them operating reliably at cadence, and we need them going to multiple orbits. They can do it. We just need them to execute.Robert Sproles