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How many satellites does the United Kingdom have?

As of October 17, 2026, the United Kingdom owns 761 active satellites, 4.5% of the world's 17,101 and the 3rd most of any country. The biggest single group is OneWeb, with 652 satellites (86% of the total).

761

Active satellites

4.5%

Of the world total

3rd

Rank among countries

Launches in 2025

City lights of the south of England and northern France seen from orbit at night — London and Paris at night, photographed from the International Space Station on February 6, 2015. Photo: NASA.

What they do

Communications accounts for 725 of the United Kingdom's active satellites (95%).

Communications725 (95.3%)
Earth imaging20 (2.6%)
Technology demonstration9 (1.2%)
SIG/IMG3 (0.4%)
Science2 (0.3%)
MGRAV1 (0.1%)

Where they orbit

Lower low Earth orbit (80 to 600 km)661 (86.9%)
Upper low Earth orbit (600 to 2,000 km)34 (4.5%)
Medium Earth orbit33 (4.3%)
Geosynchronous orbit24 (3.2%)
Highly elliptical orbit6 (0.8%)

Who operates them

The largest operators, and the largest families of satellites, owned by the United Kingdom.

By operator

One Web (NAA)523 (68.7%)
One Web109 (14.3%)
O3B SES21 (2.8%)
Eut. One Web20 (2.6%)
SES Sat. Leasing12 (1.6%)
O3B12 (1.6%)

By satellite family

OneWeb652 (85.7%)
O33 (4.3%)
SES9 (1.2%)
Inmarsat8 (1.1%)
Skynet5 (0.7%)

Operator names are as written in GCAT, usually transliterated from the original language. Families group satellites by the first word of their name.

How the fleet has grown

At the end of 2005, the United Kingdom had 37 payloads in Earth orbit. By the end of 2025 it had 787.

Payloads owned by the United Kingdom in Earth orbit at the end of each year, working or not.

Launches

The United Kingdom has made 2 orbital launch attempts since its first in 1970, and 0 of them in 2025. Its busiest year was 1970 with 1.

Orbital launch attempts by the United Kingdom each year. 2026 is partial, through October 16.

Sources and method

GCAT by Jonathan McDowell, CC BY 4.0. Updated October 17, 2026. Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat).
Active means GCAT lists the satellite as working or possibly still transmitting, a status GCAT says is often a guess. Ownership is by the owner's country, not the launch country.