India


2012 – Ground Observatories, Astronomy

Astronomers are laying the groundwork for a new generation of extraordinarily large observatories. The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Telescope will be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built. The SKA takes its name from the combined size of the collecting area of the thousands of individual dishes that comprise it, making it far more sensitive than any existing radio telescope.

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2012 – Probes

Mars is attracting interest from other nations as well. India’s government announced in August 2012 that it approved plans for their country’s first mission beyond the Moon. The Mars Orbiter Mission, slated to launch in late 2013, will make India the ## to launch a mission to the Red Planet, after the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and China.

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2012 – Dual Purpose EO/RS

Many remote sensing satellites have dual military and civil or commercial purposes. India launched its indigenously developed radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1, in April 2012. The satellite will join RISAT-2 and will provide India with the ability to image features on the ground even if covered by clouds or foliage due to its use of a C-band microwave synthetic aperture radar. RISAT-2, a radar-based reconnaissance satellite, was purchased from Israel and deployed before RISAT-1 to help track and prevent terrorist activity, such as the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

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2012 – Meteorology

Weather satellites form another major segment of remote sensing satellites, typically operating in GEO or polar LEO orbits. These systems are primarily operated by national governments for forecasting near-term weather patterns. Delays and funding issues could endanger the robustness of some weather satellites programs, as several existing polar satellites are operating near or beyond their design life and are in need of replacement. One program in particular, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), is set to replace the aging Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) fleet.

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2012 – Space Policy: Common Topics and Different Approaches

Throughout the world, space policies, strategies, and plans are formalized in documents through which governments communicate the priorities and strategic objectives of their space programs. Space policies describe the overarching approach that guides a country’s space program within the contex… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, Packed…

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2012 – Satellite Television

Revenues from DTH television services comprised ##% of the commercial space products and services sector, and grew from $## billion in 2011 to $## billion in 2012. North American DTH providers DIRECTV and DISH Network continue to be the largest suppliers, with combined revenues of $## billion for 2012, a ##% increase from $## billion in 2011. Other DTH providers around the world generated the remaining $## billion in 2012 revenues.

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2012 – Indian Government Space Budget

For FY 2012, covering April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, the combined planned budgets of India’s Department of Space (DOS)—which includes the country’s civil space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)—and the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Satellite Services program totaled ## billion rupees (US$## billion).

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2012 – Government Space Budgets Overview

Government space programs accounted for approximately $## billion in spending during 2012, representing ##% of the global space economy. Government investment in space grew by ##% in 2012, a rate lower than the average annual ##% growth rate between 2008 and 2012. The top-line figures, however, do not fully depict how some countries have significantly increased space spending while others have made cuts, as shown in Exhibit 2o below. Governments do not all operate under the same fiscal cycle, so international space spending numbers were derived…

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2012 – Demographics

Considering the number of doctoral degrees earned in science and engineering, the European Union has the greatest proportion, followed by China and the United States. As with first university degrees, China has been rapidly increasing the number of doctoral science and engineering degrees granted since the early 2000s.

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2012 – Demographics

Universities in the United States attract a large number of foreign students. The largest proportion of these students comes from China, followed by South Korea and India. Retaining these highly trained graduates is important, particularly at a time when global competition for this talent is increasing. . .

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