The United States has developed many space programs since the beginning of the spaceflight era in the mid-20th century.
In the late 1980s, commercial interests emerged in the space industry and have expanded dramatically, especially within the last 10 to 15 years.
[2] Missile warning, defense weather, military satellite communications, and space domain awareness also acquire significant annual investment.
[3] The Intelligence Community, through entities that include the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), invests significant resources in space.
[4][5] Commercial crewed program activity was spurred by the establishment of the $10 million Ansari X Prize in May 1996.