France
Tracking Transoceanic Flights
The disappearance and crash of Air France Flight 477 over the Atlantic in June 2009, with 228 passengers and crew aboard, drew attention to a gap in the worldwide aviation system that space services can address. The initial inability of search crews to locate the aircraft stemmed in part from a lack of continuous communication and monitoring capability.
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 – Europe Launch and Payload – Snapshot
Europe’s space launch capability is managed by ESA via France-based Arianespace, a public-private consortium of 23 shareholders and ten European nations. European launches are conducted using facilities located at Kourou in French Guiana. While this site has seen a progression of rockets lift off from its pads, in recent years only the Ariane 5 launched from Kourou.
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$## million) for the Alcântara Space Centre.
2009 – Earth Observation – Snapshot
Earth observation systems provide a diverse array of satellite data and value-added imagery products to government and industry. This information helps organizations understand climate change, promote national security, assist in the management of natural resources, and support infrastructure construction and maintenance. As the cost of land imagery decreases, satellite operators are increasingly shifting toward integrated imagery and data services to differentiate and add value for clients. This trend is expected to continue as new satellite operators enter the market and as automated data interpretation, integration, and web-based hosting systems mature.
2009 – Disaster Charter – Snapshot
Remote sensing satellites provide data to assess the scope and impact of disasters that have occurred. The information also enables planning for the mitigation of events that may occur. The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters provides a means for relief agencies to request satellite imagery of an area affected by a disaster.
2009 – European Military Space Budget – Snapshot
In Europe, industrial revenues from the sale and production of military-space related products and services have been steadily increasing over recent years. Based on trends in past revenue from European industry’s sales to governments, it can be estimated that European industrial revenue in 2009 from sales related to government military space programs will reach €## billion (US$## billion). In France, the government has announced plans to increase the annual military space budget to €## million (US$## million) by 2014, a ##% increase from the 2008 level of €## million (US$## million).
2009 – Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) Space Activities – Snapshot
GEO satellites provide a wide fixed coverage area, making them ideal for reaching a community of stationary antennas that do not need to track a moving object in space. The dominant providers of international fixed satellite services (FSS) are Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, and Telesat. These four companies collectively own slightly more than half of all GEO commercial communications satellites, and represented ##% of total FSS market revenues in 2008.
2009 – French Government Space Budget -Snapshot
France’s space agency, the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), operated on a budget of approximately €## million (US$## billion) in 2009, excluding contributions made to ESA. This represented a ##% percent increase from the 2008 budget of €## million. In 2009, France contributed €## million (US$## billion) to ESA programs. Combined, the CNES budget and the French contribution to ESA total €## billion (US$## billion), representing approximately ##% of France’s €## billion (US$## billion) national budget in 2009.
2009 – European Space Agency Budget – Snapshot
With 18 member states, ESA had a 2009 budget of €## billion (US$## billion), approximately ##% more than the 2008 budget of €## billion (US$## billion). The largest ESA funding line items are the Ariane and Vega launch vehicles, at ##% of ESA’s 2009 budget, and Earth observation activities at ##% of the budget, including projects such as the European Remote Sensing series of satellites, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite, and the new Sentinel series of satellites to be developed in connection with GMES.