Top 100 Most Important Operational Satellites in 2025
Starlink Constellation (2019–present) by SpaceX comprises about 4,500 microsatellites in ~550 km LEO with Ku/Ka-band user links and laser crosslinks, enabling global internet including disaster response. James Webb Space Telescope (2021) features a 6.5 m segmented mirror and instruments NIRCam, NIRSpec, and MIRI, delivering the deepest infrared images of the universe including SMACS 0723 and exoplanet atmospheres. Gaia (2013) operates at the Sun–Earth L2 point to map ~2 billion stars with micro-arcsecond precision, with DR3 released in 2022 transforming stellar and galactic astronomy. Parker Solar Probe (2018) became the closest spacecraft to the Sun and the fastest human-made object, with