This group gathers commercial companies founded from the 2000s onward that design, build and operate their own orbital launch vehicles, competing directly for government and commercial launch contracts rather than only supplying components to government run programs. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, Rocket Lab, United Launch Alliance and newer entrants such as Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space each field or are developing their own orbital rockets and sell launch services on the open market. Their emergence realized the shift documented in Wikipedia's Private Spaceflight article: entrepreneurs who began designing new orbital space systems in the 2000s were deploying them by the 2010s, bringing real market competition to space launch services after 2010 by reducing the cost of a launch and expanding the amount of available launch capacity, a change from the earlier decades of the Space Age when only government agencies and their affiliated contractors funded and operated launch systems.
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Active Commercial Orbital Launch Providers
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Arianespace
Wikimedia FoundationArianespace article, sentence naming 1980Quote, Arianespace article, sentence naming 1980
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider.
Wikipedia, Private Spaceflight (source)
lead sectionQuote, lead section
These new offerings have brought about significant market competition in space launch services after 2010 that had not been present previously, principally through the reduction of the cost of space launch and the availability of more space launch capacity.
Wikipedia: SpaceX (company)
Has Member: SpaceX, lead sectionQuote, Has Member: SpaceX, lead section
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and provider of space transportation, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence services, headquartered at the Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas.
Wikipedia: Rocket Lab
Has Member: Rocket Lab, lead sectionQuote, Has Member: Rocket Lab, lead section
Rocket Lab Corporation is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider.
Wikipedia: United Launch Alliance
Has Member: United Launch Alliance, lead sectionQuote, Has Member: United Launch Alliance, lead section
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Wikipedia: Firefly Aerospace
Has Member: Firefly Aerospace, lead sectionQuote, Has Member: Firefly Aerospace, lead section
Firefly develops small- and medium-lift launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit.
Wikipedia: Relativity Space
WikipediaHas Member: Relativity Space, lead sectionQuote, Has Member: Relativity Space, lead section
Relativity Space is developing launch vehicles, rocket engines, and manufacturing technologies for commercial orbital launch services.
Wikipedia: GK Launch Services
Has Member: GK Launch Services, Lead: company descriptionQuote, Has Member: GK Launch Services, Lead: company description
Glavkosmos (Russian: Главкосмос) is a Russian launch service provider
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