WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in Afghanistan get nervous when they have to reel down one of their tethered, video­camera-equipped aerostats for maintenance.

WASHINGTON — Commercial launches of satellites to orbits other than geostationary orbit will average 13 per year through 2020, with a peak of 18 launches in 2015 driven by deployment of the Iridium Next satellite communications constellation, according to new projections by a government-industry group.