Satellite statistics
Each of these is computed from the live catalog when the page is built, not typed in from somewhere else. Where a figure can honestly be worked out a second way, it is, and the page refuses to print it when the two routes disagree. Where it cannot, the page names the check it did run instead of showing you an agreement it did not earn.
- How many satellites are in orbit right now?The current count of active satellites, computed from live orbital element sets, with what the number does and does not include.
- How many Starlink satellites are there?The current Starlink count and its share of every active satellite, computed from the live catalog.
- Which countries operate the most satellites?Active satellites ranked by the country of the operator, computed from the live catalog, with the caveat that operator country is not the same as launch country.
- How many satellites are launched each year?Catalogued objects by launch year, showing how sharply the rate has changed, computed from the live catalog.
- Which operators run the most satellites?Active satellites ranked by operator, computed from the live catalog, after reconciling the name variants the launch catalog keeps separate.
- What orbits are satellites in?Active satellites split by orbit class, computed from the live catalog, and why low Earth orbit dominates so completely.
- How many satellites still work?How many catalogued objects a source says are still functioning, and why "still in orbit" and "still working" are different questions.
- What is the oldest satellite still in orbit?The earliest launch date among the payloads this catalog tracks, and why that is not the same as the oldest object in orbit.
How the underlying catalog is built, and where every field comes from, is on the methodology page.