Meta-comment: I haven't seen this noted elsewhere, but there's been a very sudden and significant acceleration in the pace of space launch. So far there have be

Meta-comment: I haven't seen this noted elsewhere, but there's been a very sudden and significant acceleration in the pace of space launch. So far there have been 22 launches this year, which is about double the pace of last year. And there are more than 180 launches planned -- again, double the pace of last year. The most launches ever to occur in a single year was 139 -- during the height of the space race in 1967. Although many of this year's planned launches will undoubtedly slip into next year, we're quite likely to set an all-time record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_spaceflight https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_spaceflight Also notable is the fact that of the 22 launches this year, three have been the debuts of entirely new vehicles, two of which were entirely privately funded. There are likely to be several more private launch vehicle debuts this year. This is a really significant shift for what had long been a moribund industry, and a lot of complementary innovations will be able to piggyback onto this momentum.