Space program overview In 3 editions of 36.

• has a national space policy and space research program with stated goals of supporting internal development, managing resources, mastering space technology, and reinforcing national sovereignty;
• builds and operates communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• researching and developing a range of space-related capabilities, including satellites and satellite payloads, communications, RS, instrumentation, image processing, and geo-spatial information;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including Argentina, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, the UK, and other African countries;
• member of the African Space Agency and the Arab Space Coordination Group (2025)

• has a national space strategy with a focus on capacity-building, developing space infrastructure, investing in domestic space sector, supporting socioeconomic growth, and establishing cooperation agreements with foreign technical and scientific institutions in the space industry;
• contracts with foreign companies to build and launch satellites;
• operates satellites;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of France, Portugal, Russia, the US, and other African countries;
• member of the African Space Agency (2025)

• has a small, nascent program focused on satellite technology and geospatial information systems, as well as exploitation for resource management, environmental challenges, agricultural sector support, and national security;
• member of the African Space Agency and cooperates bilaterally with member states such as Tanzania (2025)

• has a growing space program and seeks to become a regional space power;
• operates satellites;
• builds satellites jointly with foreign partners but developing localized satellite manufacturing and support infrastructure;
• acquiring other space-related technologies through transfers and domestic development, including in communications, Earth imaging/remote sensing (RS), and satellite payloads and components;
• works with a variety of foreign governments and commercial space companies, including those of Belarus, Canada, China, the ESA and its member states (particularly France, Germany, Italy), Ghana, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Ukraine, the UAE, and the US;
• also a member of the Arab Space Coordination Group;
• has an active commercial space sector (2025)

• focuses on acquiring and operating satellites, as well as conducting research;
• jointly builds satellites with foreign partners, and operates and exploits remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• developing the ability to manufacture satellites and their payloads;
• involved in astronomy and the construction of space observatories;
• works with a variety of countries, including China, France, India, Russia, and multiple African countries, particularly Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda;
• shares RS data with neighboring countries (2025)

• has a small space program focused on using data from remote sensing (RS) satellites for environmental and natural-resource management, mapping, land-use planning, maritime surveillance, and research;
• member of the African Space Agency;
• has relationships with Brazil, China, the ESA, individual ESA member states (particularly France), and the US, as well as African countries such as Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, and South Africa;
• shares RS satellite data with neighboring countries (2025)

• has nascent space program focused on Earth observation, space science education, and telecommunications;
• seeks to exploit remote sensing (RS) technology for agriculture, natural-resource management, weather forecasting, and national security;
• relies on foreign imagery for analysis but seeks to develop its own RS satellite capabilities;
• has established cooperative relationships with China, Japan, and a number of regional states, particularly South Africa;
• working with Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda on a satellite to monitor climate changes in the African continent;
• member of the African Space Agency;
• partner in the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope (2025)

• has a national space strategy focused on acquiring and applying space technologies for agriculture, communications, disaster and resource management, security, urban planning, and weather monitoring;
• jointly develops and builds nanosatellites with foreign partners;
• operates satellites;
• researching and developing satellite payloads and imagery data analysis capabilities;
• has cooperated on space issues with China, Japan, India, Italy, and the US, as well as a variety of African partners;
• member of the African Space Agency (2025)

• has a national space program that focuses on acquiring satellites for agricultural and environmental applications, meteorology, mining and disaster monitoring, security, and socio-economic development;
• designs, builds (mostly with foreign assistance), and operates satellites;
• processes overhead imagery data for analysis and sharing;
• developing additional capabilities in satellite and satellite payload production, including remote sensing technologies;
• has a sounding rocket program for researching rockets and rocket propulsion, with goal of launching domestically produced satellites into space from a Nigerian spaceport by 2030;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Ghana, India, Japan, Kenya, Mongolia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the US, and Vietnam;
• has a government-owned satellite company and a small commercial aerospace sector (2025)

• has a small program focused on developing space technologies, such as satellite communications and imagery for connectivity, disaster management, security, and socioeconomic development;
• operates communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• has established ties with the space agencies or industries of several countries, including France, Israel, Japan, Poland, the UAE, and the US, as well as members of the African Space Agency;
• seeks to establish itself as an African hub for satellite production and has encouraged development of a domestic commercial space sector (2025)

• small, nascent program focused on earth observation/remote sensing capabilities, largely for climate resilience, environmental management, research, and socio-economic development;
• conducts research in fields such as astronomy and planetary sciences;
• has cooperated with space agencies in China, France, Turkey, and the US, as well as the ESA (2025)

• key areas of emphasis for its national space program include Earth observation/remote sensing (RS) capabilities, weather monitoring, research, engineering, and operations (tracking, telemetry, etc.);
• produces and operates satellites;
• has a sounding rocket program for carrying experimental payloads for research;
• cooperates with a range of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, France, India, Russia, and the US;
• member of the African Space Agency;
• participates in international programs such as the Square Kilometer Array Project;
• has a number of state- and privately-owned aerospace companies, as well as academic and research institutions involved in space-related activities (2025)

• has a nascent program with the goal of using space technologies in economic development, including remote sensing capabilities to assist with monitoring or managing agriculture, food security, climate change, disease outbreaks, environmental hazards and disasters, and natural resources, as well as weather forecasting;
• has cooperated with Japan and Russia (2025)

• largely focused on the acquisition and operation of satellites;
• operates foreign-built communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the ESA (bilaterally with individual member states such as France), Israel, Russia, Turkey, and the US;
• Azercosmos is the largest satellite operator in the Caucasus region (2025)

• has a modest space program focused on designing, building, and operating satellites, particularly those with remote sensing (RS) capabilities;
• SPARSSO's mandate is to use space and RS technology in areas such as agriculture, education, environmental studies, fisheries, forestry, geology, land use, mapping, meteorology, and oceanography;
• has a government-owned company for acquiring and operating satellites (Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited, established in 2017);
• works with several foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of France, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• member of several international space organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (2025)

• considered one of the world’s leading space powers, with a comprehensive and ambitious space program;
• can manufacture and operate the full spectrum of space launch vehicles (SLVs) and spacecraft, including human-crewed, lunar/inter-planetary/asteroid probes, satellites (communications, remote sensing, navigational, scientific, etc.), space stations, and reusable space transportation;
• has an astronaut/taikonaut program;
• researches and develops a range of space-related capabilities, including advanced telecommunications, optics, spacecraft components, and satellite payloads;
• participates in international space programs and co-leads (with Australia and Japan) the Global Earth Observation System of Systems;
• has signed agreements with more than 45 national space agencies, including those of Brazil, Canada, France, and Russia, as well several international organizations;
• has also cooperated with ESA;
• two state-owned aerospace enterprises dominate space industry, but a substantial commercial space sector includes launch services (2025)

note: the US NASA is barred by a 2011 law from cooperating with the Chinese bilaterally in space unless approved by the US Congress; the US objected to China’s participation in the International Space Station program

• has one of the world’s largest space programs;
• designs, builds, launches, operates, and tracks the full spectrum of satellites, including communications, navigation, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology;
• designs, builds, and launches rockets, space/satellite launch vehicles (SLVs), and lunar/interplanetary probes;
• launches satellites for foreign partners;
• researching and developing additional technologies and capabilities;
• developing astronaut program and human flight capabilities (with assistance from Russia and the US);
• has space-related agreements with the ESA and more than 50 countries, including China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• participates in international projects such as the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope;
• the Department of Space administers two government-controlled space industry corporations;
• has a growing private space sector (2025)

• has one of the world’s largest and most advanced space programs, with independent capabilities in all areas except autonomous manned space flight;
• designs, builds, launches, and operates the full spectrum of satellites;
• designs, builds, and independently launches satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs) and other spacecraft;
• has a wide range of research and development programs;
• has an astronaut training program;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station and the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope project;
• leads the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum and co-leads the Global Earth Observation System of Systems;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, the ESA and its member states, India, Russia, the UAE, the US;
• has a commercial space industry that develops space-related capabilities and technologies, including satellites, satellite payloads and subcomponents, and SLVs;
• in recent years, the Japanese Government has supported space startup companies (2025)

• space program originated with the former Soviet Union;
• focuses on satellite acquisition and operation;
• builds (with foreign assistance) and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites;
• building space infrastructure, such as launch and testing facilities, ground stations, and rocket manufacturing;
• has an astronaut (cosmonaut) program;
• has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, and the UK;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station;
• has state-owned and private companies that assist with the country’s space program and work closely with foreign commercial entities (2025)

• North Korea’s leader has emphasized the development of space capabilities, particularly satellite launch vehicles (SLVs) and remote sensing satellites;
• manufactures satellites and rockets/SLVs;
• independently launches rockets/SLVs;
• SLV program is viewed as closely related to the country's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles;
• passed a national space law in 2013, and revised it in 2022 to allow for the use of space for national defense;
• has cooperated with Iran on space-related technologies, and signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia in 2024 that stated the two countries would “develop exchanges and joint research in science and technology, including space” (2025)

• has an ambitious space program focused on developing satellites, satellite launch vehicles (SLVs), and interplanetary probes;
• has a national space strategy;
• manufactures and operates satellites, including those with communications, remote sensing (RS), scientific, and multipurpose capabilities;
• manufactures and launches SLVs;
• developing interplanetary space vehicles, including orbital probes and landers;
• participates in international programs and works with an array of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Australia, the ESA, individual ESA member states (particularly France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK), India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Peru, Russia, UAE, and the US;
• has an active commercial space industry (2025)

• space program dates back to the early 1960s, but funding shortfalls and shifts in priority toward ballistic missile development in the 1980s and 1990s hampered the program’s development;
• now has a strengthened focus on acquiring satellites and reaching agreements with other space powers for additional capabilities;
• manufactures and operates satellites;
• researching and developing other space-related capabilities and technologies, such as satellite payloads;
• also conducts research in areas such as astronomy, astrophysics, environmental monitoring, and space sciences;
• works with China, Russia, and Turkey (cooperated with the UK and US prior to the 1990s) (2025)

• has one of the world’s largest space programs and is active across all areas of the space sector;
• builds, launches, and operates satellite/space launch vehicles, satellites, space stations, interplanetary probes, and manned, robotic, and re-usable spacecraft;
• has astronaut (cosmonaut) training program and conducts human space flight;
• researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies;
• participates in international space programs such as the International Space Station;
• has had relations with dozens of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the ESA, India, Japan, and the US;
• Roscosmos and its public subsidiaries comprise the majority of the Russian space industry;
• Roscosmos has eight operating areas, including manned space flights, launch systems, unmanned spacecraft, rocket propulsion, military missiles, space avionics, special military space systems, and flight control systems;
• private companies are also involved in a range of space systems (2025)

• has a small space program focused on acquiring satellites and developing the infrastructure to build and operate satellites;
• particularly interested in communications and remote sensing satellites;
• has cooperated with the space agencies and/or space industries of France, Italy, Russia, South Korea, and the US (2025)

• has a small but growing space effort focused on acquiring satellites and developing the country’s space industries and technologies in key sectors, including cartography, data processing, environmental and disaster monitoring, land use, resource management, and telecommunications;
• recognized for its astronomy program;
• member of international space organizations;
• cooperates with foreign space agencies or commercial companies from a variety of countries, including those of Canada, China, France, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, and the UAE (2025)

• has a small, recently established program focused on using space to develop the country’s economy and industry, including acquiring and using satellites;
• has built a remote sensing (RS) cube satellite;
• has relations with US space agencies and commercial space industries, as well as with the ESA and the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

• stated mission is to promote the development of space activities with the aim of broadening the country’s capacities in education, industry, science, and technology;
• has cooperated with China and Russia;
• is a signatory of the convention establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

• established a national space program in 2002;
• develops, builds, operates, and tracks satellites, including remote sensing and research/scientific satellites;
• member of the ESA;
• works closely with ESA and EU member states and the commercial sector to develop a range of space capabilities and technologies, including applications for satellite payloads, space flight, and space research;
• participates in a range of ESA/EU programs, including Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), Copernicus Earth observation, and Galileo global navigation satellite system;
• also cooperates with other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, India, Russia, and the US (2025)

• builds satellites, particularly research/science/technology and remote sensing platforms;
• researches, develops, and produces a wide variety of space technologies, including telecommunications, optics, robotics, scientific instruments, and space launch vehicle components;
• founding member of the ESA and participates in a variety of ESA and EU projects, such as Space Surveillance and Tracking, Copernicus Earth observation, and Galileo global navigation satellite system;
• hosts the European Space Security and Education Center (established 1968);
• participates in international astronomy efforts, particularly through the European Southern Observatory (ESO);
• has worked with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities outside Europe, including those of Argentina, China, India, Russia, South Africa, UAE, Vietnam, and the US (2025)

• has a long history of space-related activities going back to the 1960s;
• develops, produces, and operates satellites;
• researches, develops, and produces other space technologies, including those related to astrophysics, remote sensing, data exploitation, optics, and electronics;
• has specialized in producing scientific instruments for space research;
• has more than 20 research institutes;
• Cooperating State of the ESA since 2015;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of the ESA, EU, individual ESA and EU member states, India, Japan, Russia, and the US (2025)

• EU member states have a large and advanced commercial space sector that develops and produces a full range of capabilities and technologies;
• a key focus for both the European Space Agency (ESA) and the EU Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA) is encouraging this sector;
• Europe is a global leader in satellite-based communications and hosts the headquarters of three of the world’s major satellite communications companies

ESA is comprehensive space agency that is active across the space sector, except for launching humans into space; its activities include producing and operating satellites with a full spectrum of capabilities (communications, multipurpose, navigational, remote sensing, science/technology), satellite launch vehicles (SLVs), space launches, astronaut training, space transportation/automated transfer vehicles, reusable spacecraft, space station modules, spacecraft components, robotic space labs, lunar/planetary surface rovers, interplanetary space probes and exploration, and space telescopes; ESA participates in international programs such as the International Space Station and works closely with Europe’s commercial space industry; it also works with a broad range of space agencies and industries of non-member countries, including China, Japan, Russia, and the US; many of its programs are conducted jointly, particularly with the US space program

• the EUSPA is responsible for the operational management of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Galileo satellite navigation programs;
• the EU space strategy encourages investment in and the use of space services and data, fosters competition and innovation, develops space technologies, and reinforces Europe’s autonomy in accessing space (2025)

• has one of Europe’s largest space programs and is one of the top contributors to the ESA;
• has independent capabilities in all areas, except for autonomous manned space flight;
• can build, launch, and operate a range of space/satellite launch vehicles (SLVs) and spacecraft, including exploratory probes and a full spectrum of satellites;
• shifted astronaut training to ESA in 2001;
• hosts the ESA headquarters and its space launch facility;
• participates in international space programs such as the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope and International Space Station;
• works with a broad range of space agencies and commercial space companies, including those of China, Egypt, individual ESA and EU member countries, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the UAE, the US, and several African countries;
• has a large commercial space sector involved in satellite construction and payloads, launch capabilities, and a range of other space-related capabilities and technologies (2025)

• has one of Europe’s largest space programs and is a top contributor to the ESA;
• builds and operates satellites, satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs), probes, and unmanned orbiters;
• researches and develops a range of capabilities and technologies, including reusable space planes, satellite payloads, rockets, propulsion-assisted landing technologies, and aeronautics;
• participates in EU and ESA programs, including the Cassini-Huygens research mission to Saturn, Mars and Venus exploration missions, and the Galileo global navigation satellite system;
• participates in ESA’s astronaut training program and human space flight operations;
• hosts the European Astronaut Center;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the James Webb Space Telescope;
• hosts mission control centers for the ISS, the ESA, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT);
• has ties to foreign space programs, including those of China, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• has a robust commercial space sector (2025)

• focuses on building and operating satellites for communications and remote sensing (RS);
• researches and develops space-related technologies in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, defense, environmental studies, RS, and telecommunications;
• contributes to and participates in ESA capabilities and programs;
• also participates in EU space programs and cooperates bilaterally with European and US space agencies and commercial space sectors;
• has a commercial space sector that researches, develops, and produces a variety of space technologies and capabilities (2025)

• one of the top contributors to the ESA;
• designs, builds, launches, and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites;
• designs and manufactures probes, rockets, and orbital satellite launch vehicles (SLVs);
• researches, develops, and builds a range of other space-related technologies and participates in a wide array of international programs;
• hosts the ESA Center for Earth Observation;
• has astronaut cadre in the ESA astronaut corps;
• has cooperated with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, the UAE, and the US;
• participates in international projects such as the International Space Station;
• has considerable commercial space industries encompassing a wide range of capabilities (2025)

• Luxembourg Space Agency was established in 2018 to develop space policy, encourage and coordinate commercial space ventures, support space education, and promote the country’s space-related capabilities internationally;
• has a national space strategy;
• has set up policy and funding initiatives (such as LuxIMPULSE) to encourage research, development, innovation, and entrepreneurship and attract space-based industries;
• focuses on developing commercial satellites and infrastructure, as well as other capabilities and technologies;
• hosts some of the largest commercial satellite companies in the world;
• member of the ESA since 2005 and participates in a variety of ESA programs;
• cooperates bilaterally with individual ESA and EU member states;
• also works with other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UAE, and the US (2025)

• has a national space program focused on developing advanced space technologies and services based on satellite data;
• builds and operates a range of satellites, including communications and remote sensing (RS);
• researches and develops technologies related to astrophysics, atmospheric measuring instruments, planetary/exoplanetary research, propulsion systems, RS, robotics, and telecommunications;
• founding member of the ESA and active in the EU space community;
• hosts the ESA's main research and technology center;
• participates in building European satellite launch vehicles and a range of other European space programs, such as Copernicus Earth observation and the Galileo global navigation satellite system;
• participates in international programs, including the International Space Station and the Square Kilometer Array project;
• works with other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Japan and the US;
• has a robust commercial space sector (2025)

• jointly designs and builds satellites with foreign partners, including communications, remote sensing (RS), scientific, and navigational/positional satellites;
• develops and launches sounding rockets;
• researches and produces a range of other space-related technologies, including satellite/space launch vehicle (SLV) and space station components, telescopes, and robotics;
• conducts solar and telecommunications research;
• member of the ESA;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station;
• hosts training on the island of Svalbard for Mars landing missions;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, ESA/EU member states, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• has an active and advanced private-sector space industry that works with domestic and foreign space programs (2025)

• builds satellites, including nano/cube remote sensing (RS) and scientific/technology satellites;
• researches and develops communications, RS, navigational, and other scientific applications for satellite payloads;
• creating infrastructure for data from meteorological and environmental satellites;
• researches and develops other space-related technologies, including sensors and robotic probes for interplanetary landers, and launcher systems;
• space program is integrated with the ESA and the EU;
• participates in a variety of ESA/EU and international programs;
• cooperates with a variety of other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, Canada, China, ESA/EU member states (particularly France, Germany, Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, UK, and the US;
• has a commercial space sector with more than 300 active enterprises (2025)

• largely focuses on the acquisition and operation of satellites;
• researches and develops a range of space-related technologies with an emphasis on small satellites for remote sensing (RS), navigational, science/technology, and telecommunications, as well as satellite launch services;
• space program is integrated with the ESA and involved in a variety of ESA and EU space programs;
• works with the space agencies and industries of a range of countries, including Algeria, Angola, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Morocco, South Korea, and the US;
• also cooperates with international organizations and projects such as the Europe South Observatory and the Square Kilometer Array;
• one of the objectives of the country's national space strategy is to expand its commercial space sector (2025)

• develops and produces a range of capabilities and technologies, including satellites, satellite launch vehicles, remote sensing, human space flight, navigation, and telecommunications;
• program is integrated into the ESA;
• participates in EU and international space programs;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial space entities, including those of Azerbaijan, China, Japan, Russia, and the US;
• also works bilaterally with ESA member states, particularly Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy;
• has an active space-industry sector with over 50 entities (2025)

• space program dates back to the 1940s;
• manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology satellites;
• has developed sounding rockets;
• conducts research and development in a broad range of space-related capabilities, including astrobiology, astronomy, imaging/RS, meteorology, optics, propulsion, robotics, satellites (particularly micro- and nano-satellites), and satellite launch vehicles;
• program is integrated into the ESA;
• also participates in EU space programs;
• hosts the European Space Astronomy Center (ESOC) and the ESA’s Space Surveillance and Tracking Data Centre (ESAC);
• cooperates with foreign space agencies and industries, including the US;
• has an active commercial space industry (2025)

• aims to have one of Europe's leading space programs;
• produces and operates satellites;
• builds and launches sounding rockets;
• involved in the research, development, production, and operations of a variety of other space-related areas, including astronomy, atmospheric monitoring, geographic information systems, infrared imaging, meteorology, propulsion systems, remote sensing, satellite subsystems, spacecraft systems and structures, research, and telecommunications;
• member of the ESA and program is integrated into its framework;
• works extensively with foreign space agencies, in particular through the ESA and EU and their member states, as well as with the US;
• participates in programs such as Europe's Copernicus Earth observation and the Galileo global navigation satellite system, France's Pleiades project, and the Square Kilometer Array Project;
• has a large commercial space industry, including state-owned enterprises (2025)

• the country inherited a large, well-developed space program when it gained independence in 1991, taking over all the former Soviet defense/space industry that was located on its territory;
• the modern program includes the production of satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rocket carriers, satellites, and related components;
• prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, the country was producing more than 100 SLVs, SLV stages, or SLV engines annually;
• has worked with numerous foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia (curtailed after 2014), Turkey, and the US, as well as the ESA, the EU, and their member states (particularly Italy and Poland);
• has about 20 state-run space industries;
• in 2019, the Ukrainian Parliament began allowing private companies to engage in space activities (2025)

note: Dnipro, known as Ukraine's “Rocket City,” was one of the Soviet Union’s main centers for space, nuclear, and military industries and played a crucial role in the development and manufacture of both civilian and military rockets

• has a long-standing, comprehensive national space program;
• is active across all areas of the space sector except human space flight, including satellite launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets, probes, satellites, and spaceports;
• is a founding member of the ESA and is deeply involved in ESA programs;
• has bilateral relations with many ESA members and is a close partner of the US NASA;
• since 2016 has forged over 350 relationships with international organizations across nearly 50 countries;
• participates in international programs such as the International Space Station and the James Webb Space Telescope;
• has a large commercial space sector;
• the UK has a space industrial plan, and the UK Space Agency has provided funding for commercial space projects (2025)

note: the UK was part of several EU-sponsored space programs until departing the EU in 2020, including the Galileo global positioning system and the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) project; it remained part of the Copernicus Earth observation and Horizon Europe research and innovation programs after 2020; the UK has participated or continues to participate in multiple ESA programs, including Cassini-Huygens research mission to Saturn, the Mars Express space exploration missions, the Rosetta comet probe, and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission

• focuses on promoting space research and science, applying space-related technologies, and building capacity in the fields of satellite manufacturing, tracking, control, data processing and analysis, and remote sensing;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign agencies and commercial entities, including those of India, Italy, Japan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the UAE, and the US;
• also a member of the Arab Space Coordination Group (2025)

• has an ambitious civil and military space program focused on satellites and satellite launch vehicles (SLV);
• designs, builds, and operates satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific;
• manufactures and operates SLVs;
• researching and developing other space-related capabilities and technologies in areas such as telecommunications, RS, navigation, and space situational awareness;
• international sanctions against Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program have severely limited Iran’s cooperation with foreign space agencies and commercial space industries;
• in recent years, however, it has worked with North Korea and Russia, as well as regional and international space organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization;
• Iran was a founding member of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 1958;
• has an active private space industry (2025)

• has an ambitious space program that is one of the most advanced in the region;
• designs, builds, operates, and launches communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites;
• designs, builds, and operates orbital satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs);
• researches and develops a range of other space-related capabilities, with a focus on lightweight and miniaturized technologies;
• has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, the ESA, individual ESA member states (such as France, Germany, and Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, and the US;
• has a substantial commercial space sector, as well as state-owned enterprises (2025)

• has a national space strategy (Vision 2030) that seeks to grow its domestic space industry and use the space sector to accelerate economic diversification, enhance scientific research and development, and raise private-sector participation in the global space industry;
• manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites;
• develops a range of satellite subsystems and payload technologies;
• is the main founder and financier of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat, launched in 1976 and headquartered in Riyadh);
• cooperates with the space agencies and industries of a wide range of countries, including those of Belarus, China, Egypt, the ESA and its member states (particularly France, Germany, Greece, and Hungary), India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, and the US;
• member of the Arab Space Cooperation Group (2025)

• status unclear;
• has been handicapped by the impact of the civil war, including the loss of students and scientists who fled the country;
• had previously focused on satellite development and related space technologies, as well as scientific research;
• has relations with the space agency and space industries of Russia (2024)

• has an ambitious national space program with a focus on satellites, satellite components, satellite launch capabilities, software development, ground station technologies, and building up the country’s space industries;
• manufactures and operates remote sensing and telecommunications satellites;
• in recent years has initiated a satellite/space launch vehicle (SLV) program with the goal of independently placing satellites into orbit and a probe on the Moon;
• works with more than 25 foreign space agencies and corporations, including those of Azerbaijan, China, France, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, and the US, as well as the ESA;
• has state-owned rocket and satellite development companies, including some under the Ministry of Defense;
• has a growing private space-industry sector, and the Turkish Government has pledged to increase the country's share of the global space market (2025)

• has an ambitious and growing national space program;
• focused on satellite development, including communications, remote sensing, and navigation, as well as deep space exploration;
• is building expertise, infrastructure, technology, and research and development capabilities;
• has elected to use foreign partners to launch payloads from spaceports abroad;
• has looked to invest in foreign commercial space companies and develop global partnerships;
• has a foreign-assisted astronaut training program;
• seeking to establish UAE as an international hub for space education;
• founding member of the Arab Space Cooperation Group;
• works with major global and regional players, including China, Egypt, the ESA, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US;
• sees its commercial space industry as a key to diversifying and developing the country’s non-oil economy;
• dozens of space companies operate in the UAE, including international and start-ups, plus several space-science research centers (2025)

• has a national space strategy and a long history of developing space-related technologies;
• designs, builds, operates, and tracks communications, remote sensing (RS), multi-mission, and scientific/testing satellites;
• has an astronaut program;
• involved in the development and production of advanced communications systems, lunar rovers, planetary probes, robotics, sensors, and space telescopes;
• participates in international space programs, including the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope;
• Cooperating State of the ESA since 1979 and participates in a variety of ESA programs, such as the Copernicus Earth observation project;
• works with numerous foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Argentina, Brazil, individual ESA and EU member states, Japan, India, and particularly the US;
• has an active commercial space sector (2025)

• has a national space policy with a focus on expanding Mexico's commercial space sector, including acquiring satellites and developing specialists, technologies, and infrastructure;
• manufactures and operates communications and scientific satellites;
• conducts research on a range of space-related capabilities and technologies, including astronomy, astrophysics, Earth and weather sciences, remote sensing, robotics, satellite payloads, and telecommunications;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial space industries, including those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the ESA, individual ESA member states (particularly France, Germany, and the UK), India, Japan, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, and the US;
• led effort to establish the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency and hosts its headquarters (2025)

• has a large, comprehensive space program and is one of the world’s top space powers;
• builds, launches, and operates space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets and the full spectrum of spacecraft, including interplanetary probes, manned craft, reusable rockets, satellites, space stations, and space planes/shuttles;
• has an astronaut program and a corps of astronauts;
• researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies, including advanced telecommunications and optics, navigational aids, propulsion, and robotics;
• has launched orbital or lander probes to the Sun and all the planets in the solar system, as well as to asteroids and beyond the solar system;
• has dozens of international missions and projects, including with Canada, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the ESA;
• as of January 2026, 60 countries had signed onto the US-led Artemis Accords to enhance the governance of civil exploration and use of outer space;
• the US commercial space industry is one of the world’s largest and is active across the spectrum of US government space programs;
• US commercial companies conduct the majority of NASA and US military space launches (2026)

• has a history of involvement in space-related activities, including astronomy, rockets, satellites, and space tracking;
• develops, builds, operates, and tracks satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and navigational, often in partnership with other countries;
• develops other space technologies, including communications, RS capabilities, and telescopes;
• encouraging growth in domestic commercial space-industry sector, including satellite launch vehicles;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, the ESA, individual ESA member states, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, and the US;
• co-leads the Global Earth Observation System of Systems and hosts one of the telescopes for the international Square Kilometer Array radio telescope (2025)

• has a national space program focused largely on the development of a commercial space sector, particularly in the field of satellites and satellite launch vehicles (SLV);
• manufactures and launches commercial satellites and SLVs;
• researches and develops a range of other space-related technologies, including propulsion systems;
• participates in international programs and partners with a range of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Australia, Canada, the EU, the ESA, individual European countries, South Africa, and the US;
• has a growing commercial space sector (2025)

• has a national space program and a history in the development of space-related capabilities, including rockets and satellites;
• develops, builds, and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites, often in partnership with other countries;
• developing additional satellites with more advanced payloads;
• contracts with commercial and other government space agencies for launches, but has a domestic rocket program and is developing space launch vehicle (SLV) capabilities;
• cooperates with a broad range of space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, China, the European Space Agency and its member states (particularly France, Italy), and the US;
• also has a commercial space industry (2025)

• has a small space program focused on acquiring and operating satellites;
• operates a telecommunications satellite and ground stations;
• has cooperated with China and India and member states of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

• develops, builds, operates, and tracks satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), multi-mission, navigational, and scientific/testing/research;
• satellites are launched by foreign partners, but Brazil has a long-standing sounding (research) rocket and satellite launch vehicle (SLV) program and rocket launch facilities;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Argentina, Canada, the ESA, individual ESA member states (particularly France and Germany), India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, and the US;
• has a state-controlled communications company that operates Brazil’s communications satellites and a growing commercial space sector (2025)

• has a small program focused on acquiring satellites, particularly remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• operates satellites and produces nanosatellites;
• researches other space technologies, including astronautics, satellite navigation, and telecommunications;
• works with a variety of foreign space agencies or commercial space industries, including those of Denmark, India, Russia, Sweden, the US, and some members of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

• has a small program focused on acquiring and manufacturing satellites;
• builds scientific satellites;
• conducts research and develops some space-related technologies;
• has relationships with China and Russia's space agencies and industries, as well as the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency and its member states (2025)

• has a small, recently established space program focused on the acquisition of satellites, satellite data, and the technologies and capabilities to manufacture satellites, as well as promoting domestic expertise and industry;
• a priority is acquiring remote sensing capabilities to support socio-economic development, including resource mapping, weather, and crop monitoring;
• has built a cube satellite with foreign assistance;
• operates satellites;
• cooperates with foreign space agencies and industries, including those of India, Japan, Taiwan, the US, and member states of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (2025)

• focuses on acquiring satellites, applying space applications such as data satellite imagery, and building small rockets;
• has built a small science/technology satellite;
• operates satellites and processes satellite imagery data;
• builds and launches sounding rockets with goal of developing a satellite/space launch vehicle (SLV);
• researching, developing, and acquiring technologies for manufacturing satellites and satellite payloads, including remote sensing (RS) capabilities;
• member of Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) since its formation in 2021;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Brazil, China, the ESA, individual ESA member states (particularly France and Germany), India, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and the US, as well as other ALCE signatories (2025)

• has a small national program primarily focused on acquiring satellites and expanding the country’s science and technological capabilities;
• operates satellites and maintains two satellite ground control stations;
• participates in multinational space organizations such as the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency;
• closest bilateral partners are China and Russia;
• also has bilateral framework agreements for space cooperation with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay (2025)

• focuses largely on rocket development and satellite acquisition/operation;
• manufactures remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• has a sounding (research) rocket program to develop an orbital satellite launch vehicle (SLV);
• researching and developing a range of other space-related technologies related to satellite payloads, communications, RS, and astronomy;
• has relations with several foreign space agencies and industries, including those of France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US;
• national space program includes building up the country's private space sector (2025)

• has a national space policy and program focused on the areas of remote sensing (RS), navigational services, and telecommunications to support domestic economic sectors;
• seeks to promote a domestic space industry;
• acquires, manufactures, and operates satellites;
• conducts research in RS capabilities and space sciences such as astronomy, atmospherics, space environment, and weather;
• has an astronaut training exchange program with Russia and works with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of the ESA, individual ESA member states, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the UK, and the US (2025)

• has a small space program focused on acquiring satellites and related technologies, largely for climate studies, national security, and risk management;
• also prioritizing development of space expertise and industry;
• manufactures and operates satellites (mostly micro- and nano-sized), including remote sensing and scientific/experimental;
• has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, the ESA (and some of its member states), India, Japan, Russia, and the US (2025)

• has had a national space program since the early 1990s, with a focus on acquiring satellites and developing independent space capabilities, such as rocket manufacturing and satellite launch services;
• manufactures and operates satellites and sounding rockets;
• researching and developing other space technologies, including remote sensing, telecommunications, small satellites, satellite payloads and ground station components, spacecraft components, navigational control, and rocket propulsion systems;
• has bilateral relations with the space programs of France, India, Japan, Paraguay, Poland, the UK, and the US;
• has a commercial space industry that provides components and expertise for the Taiwan Space Agency and is independently developing satellites and a small satellite launch vehicle;
• the government passed a space promotion act in 2021 to encourage private investment in the space industry (2025)

• has an ambitious national space program focused on the acquisition, production, and operation of satellites, as well as research and development of related infrastructure, sciences, and technologies;
• operates communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• manufactures scientific/research/testing cube satellites and is developing the capabilities to produce RS satellites (has historically built satellites with foreign assistance);
• works with a range of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, France, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and the US;
• founding member of the China-led Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO);
• has a commercial space industry, including Southeast Asia’s first dedicated satellite manufacturing facility, which opened in 2021 (2025)

• has a growing national space program focused on acquiring, operating, and exploiting satellites, as well as expanding domestic capabilities in satellites and associated sub-system production, space sciences, and technology applications;
• builds and operates communications and remote sensing satellites;
• conducting research and development on space science and applied space technologies, such as advanced optics and space data exploitation;
• has worked closely with Japan on its space program;
• has also established relationships with the space agencies or commercial space sectors of some European countries (such as France), India, and the US (2025)