Sp
Aerospace & Space
Launch · propellants · GNSS
70fragility index
20 records13 critical1st : United States (50%)
View on the map →IF method →Read from surface (top) to matter (bottom). Hover a node to reveal what it depends on.
0Orbit & space services2
●GPS & GNSS, Space Force / global constellation
31-32 operational satellites; last GPS III delivered (2025), 9 in orbit
Critical node· US Space Force / Space Systems Command
■Deep Space Network, NASA / JPL
3 complexes (Goldstone, Madrid, Canberra); network over-subscribed by ≈40%
Critical node· NASA / JPL (Pasadena)
−ILaunchers & satellites5
●SpaceX, Falcon 9 & orbital launch
≈84% of world mass put in orbit (2024); ≈134 orbital launches
Critical node· SpaceX (Hawthorne, Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg)↑ Starlink, GPS / GNSS, Deep Space Network
●Starlink, SpaceX
>7,000 active satellites mid-2025; ≈60% of all active satellites in orbit
Critical node· SpaceX / Starlink (Redmond, Hawthorne)
●Earth-observation satellites (Maxar, Airbus)
Maxar, Airbus DS, Planet: very-high-resolution satellite imagery (30 cm native) held by a handful of Western operators
Critical node· Maxar
●The Boeing / Airbus duopoly
766 aircraft delivered by Airbus and 348 by Boeing in 2024 ; backlogs of 8,658 (Airbus) and >5,500 (Boeing) aircraft
Critical node· Airbus (Toulouse, Hamburg)
●Ariane 6, Arianespace, Kourou
Maiden flight on 9 July 2024; return of Europe's autonomous access to space
Redundancy· Arianespace / ArianeGroup (Évry-Courcouronnes)↑ GPS / GNSS, Deep Space Network
−IIEngines & propulsion5
●SpaceX engines, Merlin & Raptor
Raptor (methalox): reusable engine produced in series; Merlin powers Falcon 9
Critical node· SpaceX (Hawthorne, McGregor)↑ Falcon 9 / SpaceX, Starlink
●BeiDou (BDS)
≈45 satellites; 100% availability (2024)
Critical node· CNSA / China Satellite Navigation Office
●Civil jet engines: CFM, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce
CFM over 60% of the single-aisle fleet ; LEAP chosen on ≈75% of A320neo orders (2024) ; GE installed base ≈45,000 civil engines
Critical node· CFM International (GE Aerospace + Safran)
●RD-180, NPO Energomash, Khimki
≈122 engines delivered over 20 years; last delivery 2021, Atlas V nearing end of life
Dependency· NPO Energomash (Khimki)↑ GPS / GNSS
●Galileo (EUSPA)
≈32 satellites; most precise service (2024)
Redundancy· EUSPA
−IIIHardened electronics & sensors4
●Radiation-hardened chips, BAE Systems, Manassas
Primary US government source for hardened processors; RAD750/RAD5545, >200 missions
Critical node· BAE Systems Microelectronics (Manassas)↑ GPS / GNSS, Deep Space Network
●Space solar cells (triple-junction)
Triple-junction GaAs cells (Boeing Spectrolab, Rocket Lab/SolAero, Azur Space): oligopolistic ~$1.5B/yr market, very narrow global supply
Critical node· Boeing Spectrolab
●Inertial units & gyroscopes, Honeywell, Northrop, Safran
Honeywell: >300 space units launched, >1 M h in orbit
Dependency· Honeywell Aerospace (Plymouth)↑ Falcon 9 / SpaceX, Ariane 6, GPS / GNSS
●Star trackers & reaction wheels
Star trackers: ~75% of the world market held by 3 European firms (Sodern, Leonardo, Jena Optronik); reaction wheels, few suppliers
Dependency· Sodern (ArianeGroup)
−IVMaterials & propellants4
●Ammonium perchlorate, American Pacific, Cedar City
The only AP producer in the United States; +50% capacity ($100M expansion, 2025)
Critical node· American Pacific / AMPAC (Cedar City)↑ Ariane 6
●Aerospace carbon fibre, Toray
World leader in structural carbon fibre; Japanese oligopoly (Toray / Teijin / Mitsubishi)
Critical node· Toray Industries (Tokyo)↑ Falcon 9 / SpaceX, Ariane 6
▲Xenon, ion propulsion
Noble gas by-product of steelmaking; historic Ukrainian-Russian supply disrupted since 2022
Dependency· Steelmaking air-separation units (Ukraine, Russia, China)↑ Starlink, GPS / GNSS
●Hydrazine propellants, ArianeGroup, Lampoldshausen
Near-universal manoeuvring propellant; REACH candidate since 2011, threat of EU authorisation
Dependency· ArianeGroup Orbital Propulsion (Lampoldshausen)↑ GPS / GNSS, Starlink