Germany
2010 – Brazilian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The National Congress of Brazil’s 2011 Federal Budget authorizes ## million reais (US$## million) for activities associated with the National Program of Space Activities (PNAE), a decrease of ##% from the authorization for the previous year. This authorization includes ## million reais (US$## million) for the Brazilian space agency,
Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB), and ## million reais (US$## million) in capital investment associated with the Alcântara Space Centre.
2010 – Degrees Awarded – Snapshot
While mechanisms such as the PISA test reveal a cross-national focus on primary and secondary STEM competency, a more direct measure of the potential international space workforce is offered through a comparative analysis of STEM university graduates by country.
2010 – European Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
Despite the recession and financial crisis, the European space workforce has continued to add jobs. According to data collected by Eurospace, the nonprofit European space industry association, 31,369 full time equivalent (FTE) employees worked in the European space sector in 2009. This marked a net increase of 1,068 FTEs, or 3%, between 2008 and 2009.
Economy: Space Economy – TSR 2010
Measuring Groundwater Levels Through Gravity
Satellites provide a way to take repeated measurements over time, enabling the tracking of changes in resource levels. In 2009, authorities in India partnered with NASA to study water use in northwest India, ultimately finding that prevailing practices were unsustainable.
2009 – European Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
By 2008, European space employment reached ## full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, which remains ##% lower than the near-historic high in 2001, when employment totaled approximately ## jobs with ##% annual growth. Space employment fell each year from 2002 to 2005, including a ##% decrease in 2005 when space employment fell to ## FTE employees. Beginning in 2006, growth resumed, with ##% employment growth in 2008.
2009 – Brazilian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The National Congress of Brazil’s 2010 Federal Budget authorizes ## million Brazilian reals (US$## million) for activities associated with the National Program of Space Activities, a small increase from the previous year. This authorization includes ## million reals (US$## million) for the Brazilian space agency, Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB), and ## million reals (US$## million) for the Alcântara Space Centre.
2009 – Earth Observation – Snapshot
Earth observation systems provide a diverse array of satellite data and value-added imagery products to government and industry. This information helps organizations understand climate change, promote national security, assist in the management of natural resources, and support infrastructure construction and maintenance. As the cost of land imagery decreases, satellite operators are increasingly shifting toward integrated imagery and data services to differentiate and add value for clients. This trend is expected to continue as new satellite operators enter the market and as automated data interpretation, integration, and web-based hosting systems mature.
2009 – Meteorology – Snapshot
NASA operates or participates in more than a dozen remote sensing satellites and international programs. The Jason satellite, a joint mission between France and the United States that follows the highly successful TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter mission, has measured an increasing rate of sea level rise. Data from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have shown rapid changes in the Earth’s ice sheets.
2009 – PISA Test Snapshot
An examination of PISA test scores among 14 countries active in space offers a more focused view of relative math and science literacy, which has implications for the numbers of STEM graduates each country produces and in turn the supply of STEM-skilled workers available for space-related professions. Exhibit 4bb shows national PISA test scores from 2009 for major space countries in mathematics and science.