Several factors will play a role in the launch industry going forward: the growing popularity of small satellites, the entry of new companies into the market, and the increasing commercialization of space transportation. Launch vehicle production continues to be dominated by a few countries, notably China, European nations, Russia, and the United States. The rise of small satellites has created a trend toward a higher number of payloads per launch vehicle, since multiple smaller satellites can be carried by a single launch vehicle. In fact, on June 19, 2014, a Dnepr carried 37 payloads on one launch. The number of payloads per launch, on average, increased from 1.44 to 1.76 between 2011 and 2012, or about 22.6 percent. The figure increased another 36.8 percent in 2013 to 2.41 payloads per launch. This trend appears to be continuing in 2014. Through the first half of the year, an average of 2.76 payloads have been carried in each launch.
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