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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

[translation mine] The number of artificial satellites is growing: the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reported that at the end of August there were 1300 registered satellites in orbit, 80 more than last year. As the Infographic of the Week from Statista and Spiegel shows, China has built out its capability and has now overtaken Russia [spiegel.de].

Most of the satellites originated from the USA, as before. Last year it was 512, according to current statistics it's now 549. The majority of the global increase tracks back to China and the USA. For Russia, in comparison, the UCS database shows it has four fewer satellites this year than last.

Germany has 24 satellites, among which are two it operates jointly with the USA. It also participates in various European projects. Of the 24 German satellites 10 are occupied in commercial- and civil Earth surveillance, to produce classic satellite images.

The UCS database is here [ucsusa.org].

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