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CHART 1 • SpaceX outlaunches all governments
This data visualisation from Leverage Shares is incredibly elegant. It covers seven decades of launch history.
For most of the space age, launch activity rose depending on geopolitics and national priorities, beginning, of course, with the US-Soviet space race that eventually put man on the moon.
The Soviets dominated launch activity. However, this was largely due to their satellites wearing out quickly, which needed replacing constantly. It’s a case of quantity over quality.
Fast forward to today, and there are two very powerful trends playing out now. The US outsourced most of its launch activity to SpaceX, a commercial launch provider.
SpaceX flew 170 launches in 2025 and so far 120 in 2026, largely to put Starlink satellites into low earth orbit.
China’s launch activity is the next big trend. It has increased its launch activity significantly and has now reached levels similar to what the US did at the peak of the space race in the 1960s. This is a trend few are paying attention to.
Source: Leverage Shares
Paid subscribers get access to the other four charts: Middle East air capacity, YouTube and Netflix viewing, the value attributed to famous acquisitions and the timing of US lawmaking. Together, they show why scale should be read alongside dependence, access and measurement.
