This section presents a survey of satellites launched since the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. There are 6983 events considered between 1957 and 2010, successfully or not. In July 2011, it was observed about 3511 satellites in orbit and 1040 satellites of which are still in operation.
Five charts were developed and it shows that:
a) Worldwide intensity of activity in satellites launches, showing the total number of launches, the number of satellites still in orbit and the number of decayed satellites.
b) The number of operational satellites by mass category (worldwide).
c) Average of the masses of all satellites launched every year in the last two decades and the average of the masses just for commercial satellites.
d) The substitution process of military missions in space replaced by a growing number of civil missions, evidencing a crystal clear transition in the middle 1990s.