2004 Launch Activity Lowest Since 1960s

摘要

After several years of dunking, or hoping, that the launch activity had bottomed out, the industry reached lows last year not seen since the 1960s. Globally, 55 launches were performed in 2004, down from totals ranging into the mid 60s the previous two years. The number of commercial launches also slipped, from 24 in 2002 to 17 in 2003 and 15 in 2004. Government activity worldwide also was down, with 40 launches compared to 46 the year before. "We didn't expect it to get this low, and this pushes off the hope of any recovery even further," said Phil McAlister, program manager for the space and telecommunications industry analysis unit at Futron Corp., a market research firm based in Bethesda, Md. "Everybody thought the recovery would be just as fast as the dropoff, but now we're looking at a long trough."