2009
2009 – U.S. Space Industry Outlook – Snapshot
The most authoritative source of U.S. space industry workforce data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. space industry core employment is measured by assessing the six BLS North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes detailed in Exhibit 4b. While NAICS codes reflect an official U.S. government approach to understanding and measuring employees and salaries, in some cases NAICS codes combine workers from different industry sectors under the same labor category, complicating an exact labor count.
2009 – Russian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Russian space spending increased dramatically in 2009. The planned budget for Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, was more than ## billion rubles (US$## billion). This amount constitutes an increase of ##% from the previous year’s budget of ## billion rubles and represents approximately ##% of Russia’s ## trillion ruble (US$## billion) planned 2009 federal expenditures. This increase signifies both a positive view of the Russian space program within the Russian government and increased Russian government revenue due to oil markets.
2009 – Bigelow Space Stations – Snapshot
Another type of in-space platform currently under development is Bigelow Aerospace’s Sundancer, an inflatable habitat tentatively scheduled for launch in 2011. Sundancer builds upon the success of the Genesis I and II demonstration modules, launched in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Sundancer is intended to accommodate experiments and support humans in orbit.
2009 – U.S. Suborbital – Snapshot
Although no suborbital human-rated vehicles flew in 2009, there was considerable progress by several companies actively developing such vehicles. Among the most visible of these was the formal unveiling in December 2009 of SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital vehicle built by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture of Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites. The event culminated a year of continued development of SpaceShipTwo and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo. In May 2009, Virgin Galactic announced the beginning of tests of the rocket motor that will power SpaceShipTwo on its suborbital flights. The hybrid rocket motor uses a solid fuel and liquid nitrous oxide oxidizer developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation, the company that developed the rocket motor for SpaceShipOne.
2009 – U.S. Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
According to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than a quarter million Americans are employed in the space industry. The most recent (2006) estimate by the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation calculates the combined direct and indirect value of the U.S. space industry, including the secondary and tertiary economic activities it enables, at approximately $## billion.
2009 – Japanese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In FY 2009, Japan’s national budget allocated ¥## billion (US$## billion) for space programs across the government, an increase of approximately ##% from the previous year’s total of ¥## billion. This represents approximately ##% of the country’s ¥## trillion (US$## trillion) national budget. The Japanese government approved Japan’s first national strategy for space activities, the Basic Space Plan, in June 2009. The strategy was accompanied by increases in financial resources for Japanese space activities. The Basic Space Plan lays out the tenets of Japanese space strategy for the 2009 to 2013 time frame, with the goal of improving the international competitive position of Japan’s space-related industries.
2009 – Ground Networks – Snapshot
Ground stations are an essential but often overlooked segment of space infrastructure. Ground stations connect satellites to terrestrial networks and collect satellite information ranging from tracking and telemetry to imagery and scientific data. The stations also upload information to spacecraft, including command and control data, software upgrades, and other mission-critical instructions. Employees at some ground stations process, analyze, and distribute satellite-based data, products, and services.
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 – Iranian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In early 2009, Iran achieved a major milestone by successfully orbiting an Iranian spacecraft, Omid (Hope), in low Earth orbit aboard an indigenously built Safir rocket. The Iranian Communications Minister announced plans to manufacture seven additional satellites as well as undertake a 12-year human spaceflight program.
2009 – Israeli Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Civil space expenditures in Israel are modest, with an estimated expenditure of ## million New Israeli Shekels (US$## million) in 2009. Israel devotes most of its space spending to military space programs, with an annual budget of approximately ## million New Israeli Shekels (US$## million).