United States
2008 – U.S. National Security Space Budgets – Snapshot
As noted, DoD spending represents a majority of U.S. government space funding, yet there is limited clarity regarding what is included in this funding overall or how the funds are broken down between the individual military services. As a result, the Defense Appropriations bill passed by Congress for FY 2008 called on the Pentagon to develop a Major Force Program (MFP) budget category to aggregate space spending in a single budget line, including not only equipment and services procurement, but also research and technology development programs. The FY 2009 budget request submitted to Congress identified $## billion as related to major joint space-based programs, including Space-Based Infrared Systems, communications satellites, GPS satellites, environmental satellites, Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites, and related launch vehicles.
2008 – United States Government Space Budget – Snapshot
NASA and the DoD, the two largest space agencies in the world, dominate the U.S. space budget. The budgets for these two represent ##% of estimated U.S. government space funding. When estimates of all U.S. defense-related space activities are combined, the total is $## billion, or ##% of total U.S. government space funding. This figure includes space budget estimates for DoD, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the Missile Defense Agency. DoD space spending, combined with the budgets of these additional defense agencies, plus NASA make up ##% of the U.S. government space budget. In addition to NASA, civil space programs of the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provide an additional $## billion of U.S. government space funding.
2008 – Government Space Budgets – Snapshot
Throughout the world, large-scale space programs, particularly those tied to national scientific or defense programs, are heavily supported by government budgets. Government spending accounted for ##% of global space activity in 2008. The United States accounted for ##% of this global government spending. Space budgets for other governments rose nearly ##% in U.S. dollars, though actual growth was closer to ##% when adjusted for currency fluctuations.
2008 – Land Imaging – Snapshot
In 2008, there were ## remote sensing satellites launched on behalf of ## countries. Of particular note, in August, the German RapidEye constellation of ## remote sensing satellites was launched. The ## RapidEye satellites travel along the same orbital plane and feature identical sensors, allowing large amounts of imagery to be collected, up to ## million square kilometers (## million square miles) per day. ## satellites in the same orbital plane allow for a higher number of multiple imaging passes over the same spot and quick revisit times. With these capabilities, the RapidEye constellation is capable of imaging any point on Earth every day.
2008 – Earth Observation and Remote Sensing – Snapshot
LEO spacecraft are also used to provide images of the Earth for civil, scientific, and military applications. In 2008 the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing reported that there were ## satellites in use or in development for this purpose, operated by ## different countries. The U.S. has been the leader in the commercialization of electro-optical remote sensing technology, but recent years have seen other countries begin to excel in the development of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems.
2008 – Commercial Space and Entrepreneurial Advancement
Commercial space programs, like their government counterparts, continue to evolve around the world. As detailed in Space Products and Services, the more established programs in satellite communications and remote sensing are being joined by entrepreneurial space activities that provide excitement an… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity,…
2008 – Emerging Technologies – Snapshot
Space-based capabilities are being fused to create useful capabilities. One new capability is described by the term “geoinformatics,” which involves the convergence of PNT, remote sensing, and position information of known objects to enable dynamic location-based content.
2008 – Commercial Human Spaceflight – Snapshot
The personal spaceflight market continues to promise a bright future as commercial flights get under way as early as 2010 and demand and sales begin to increase. RocketShip Tours announced that rides aboard the Lynx, a suborbital vehicle being constructed by XCOR Aerospace, would cost $95,000 apiece. XCOR has already booked reservations for about 22 flights, each reservation secured by a deposit of $20,000. Space Adventures accumulated $30 million in revenue during 2008 due to entrepreneur Richard Garriott’s trip to the ISS. Garriott is the son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott; they are the first American father and son to have left the Earth’s atmosphere. In 2009, Charles Simonyi, CEO and President of Intentional Software, is to be Space Adventures’ first repeat space explorer. He traveled to the ISS in 2007 and was scheduled for a second visit in March 2009. In addition, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has secured a future Space Adventures flight with a $5 million down payment.
2008 – Demand Drivers and Growth Areas – Snapshot
The primary industries using space-based products and services involve Earth-orbiting satellites used for communication; remote sensing and Earth observation; and position, navigation, and timing. An emerging sector of inspace products and services now includes personal spaceflight and private space research. Companies in this sector also support defense and civil government in-space programs.
2007 – Emerging Applications Across Sectors
While space infrastructure’s products and services initially only served the communications and media sectors, they now deliver value across virtually all economic areas, from transportation to healthcare to financial services.