2009
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 – Landers/Rovers – Snapshot
Space surface systems are designed to operate on planets and other extraterrestrial bodies including the Moon, asteroids, and comets. Two well-known examples of these surface systems are the NASA Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The rovers landed on Mars in January 2004 for a planned 90-day mission.
2009 – China Launch and Payload – Snapshot
China has long relied on the Long March (Chang Zheng) series of rockets to meet its orbital launch needs. With the Long March 1 series now retired, the Long March 2 and 3 series constitute the bulk of the Chinese rocket fleet, while the Long March 4 series serves smaller payloads.
2009 – Russia Launch and Payload – Snapshot
As in recent years, Russia led the world in orbital launches, with ## in 2009, sustaining a long history of pioneering space accomplishments. In 2009 Russia launched payloads on seven different vehicles: Kosmos, Cyclone, Dnepr, Proton, Rockot, Soyuz, and Soyuz 2.
2009 – Canadian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) managed an annual budget of C$## million (US$## million), in FY 2009, an ##% increase from the previous year’s budget of C$## million. The CSA focused this funding in three main activity areas, including supporting technology development for: Earth observation; space science and exploration, which includes robotics and human spaceflight; and satellite communication and navigation systems.
2009 – Commercial Human Spaceflight – Snapshot
Revenue from in-space activities derives mainly from commercial business taking place in space or transportation services to and from space. For example, governments plan to use the private sector to deliver cargo, and eventually astronauts, to the ISS. In the future, other in-space markets could include research and development services, manufacturing, satellite refueling, and orbital debris clean-up. Based on current in-orbit activity, there are three main categories: platform-based services, transportation-based services, and personal spaceflight.
2009 – U.S. Launch and Payload – Snapshot
Seven different American-operated launch vehicle families performed ## orbital launches in 2009: the Atlas V, Delta II, Delta IV, Falcon 1, Minotaur I, Space Shuttle, and Taurus XL. These vehicles are capable of placing payloads into orbit, ranging from small satellites to major elements of the International Space Station (ISS).
2009 – Brazilian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The National Congress of Brazil’s 2010 Federal Budget authorizes ## million Brazilian reals (US$## 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 – NASA Demographics – Snapshot
NASA workforce dynamics driven by programmatic changes are complicated by demographic trends within the overall U.S. space workforce. Both NASA civil servants and the wider U.S. aerospace industry workforce can be characterized as mono-generational. Rather than being evenly spread out over a wide range of ages, much of the workforce is concentrated within a narrow age range.
2009 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot
In the United States, most civil space activities are led by NASA. Major activities at NASA in 2009 included continued operations of the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, development of the Constellation program, and numerous space and planetary sciences missions. Science activities in 2009 included the successful launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). These were the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon since the Clementine Mission in 1994. NASA human spaceflight milestones achieved in 2009 included the successful completion of five Space Shuttle flights, including the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.