September 2008: Falcon 1 reached orbit on its fourth flight, becoming the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to orbit Earth. December 2008: NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract to deliver cargo to the ISS. May 2012: Dragon cargo capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with and deliver cargo to…
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As of mid-2025, Starlink is available in over 110 countries and territories. In the United States, Starlink began with limited trials in August 2020 and the public beta “Better Than Nothing Beta” in November 2020, and now has nationwide commercial coverage including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with over 2.5 million subscribers as…
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Starlink has launched over 8,000 satellites since 2019, serves 125 countries, and by April 2025 reached the 250th dedicated Starlink launch, establishing SpaceX’s network as the largest in orbit. OneWeb, founded in 2014, began Gen1 launches in 2019 with 618 of 648 satellites deployed by March 2023, filed for Chapter 11 in 2020, was rescued…
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Starlink launched its first batch of 60 satellites in 2019, and by late 2024 the constellation numbered nearly 7,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. In 2022 Starlink introduced laser inter-satellite links, enabling data to hop between satellites and extending coverage to oceans, polar regions, and remote locales. By mid-2023 Starlink declared global coverage aside from regulatory…
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In 2024, the total global drone market was about $73 billion, with forecasts to reach roughly $163–165 billion by 2030 at around a 14% CAGR. Some analyses forecast growth from about $30 billion in 2022 to $260.5 billion by 2030, implying a 27–39% annual growth rate. By 2030 the market’s major segments are projected to…
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Starlink is available in over 100 countries as of mid-2025, spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and parts of South America. As of late 2024, Starlink had surpassed 4 million subscribers. Starlink offers five service types: Residential, Roam, Business (Priority), Maritime, and Aviation. Typical speeds range from about 50 Mbps to 150+ Mbps, with…
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In 2024, the global space economy reached $415 billion in revenue, up 4% from 2023. Commercial satellite activities totaled about $293 billion in 2024, representing 71% of the global space economy. The number of operational satellites rose from roughly 3,371 in 2020 to 11,539 by the end of 2024, a more than threefold increase. SpaceX…
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By the end of 2022, 89.5% of Belarusians were online, with about 8.27 million internet users and 86.9% penetration recorded by early 2023. Beltelecom reported about 2.9 million GPON fiber subscribers by the end of 2022, a figure that reached roughly 3 million by mid-2024. Approximately 82.4% of small settlements with 50–100 inhabitants have access…
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The first internet connection in Azerbaijan was established in 1994, with public access available by 1996. By 2010, there were an estimated 3.7 million internet users, about 44% of the population. In 2009 Azerbaijan issued a third GSM operator license as 3G services were introduced. Delta Telecom has historically owned the sole Internet Exchange Point…
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Armenia ended ArmenTel’s monopoly around 2005–2007, opening Armenia’s internet market to new ISPs and mobile operators. In 2013, Armenia removed the licensing regime for ISPs, allowing any company to provide internet after notifying the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC). By 2022, more than 200 ISPs were officially registered in Armenia. In 2020, Armenia scored 88.5…
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