2011
2011 – Chinese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Responsibility for Chinese space activities is shared by several agencies, including the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which operates the country’s human spaceflight program and its launch centers. The structure and organization of the Chinese space program, and the delineation between civil and military aspects, is not transparent. This, along with the involvement of the PLA in operational space aspects, makes obtaining credible data on the Chinese national space budget difficult. One way to estimate Chinese space spending is by comparing China to its peers.
2011- Land Imaging – Snapshot
Two major players in satellite-based Earth imagery are U.S. companies DigitalGlobe and GeoEye. Both companies provide imagery to widely used applications such as Google Earth. In August 2010, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded 10-year contracts to the companies, valued at $## billion for GeoEye and $## billion for DigitalGlobe, under the agency’s EnhancedView procurement. The NGA specializes in mapping and imagery intelligence, and played a key role in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 by providing satellite imagery, geospatial and targeting analysis, and modeling support to plan the successful mission.
2011 – Ground Observatories, Astronomy – Snapshot
To improve the resolution from ground-based observatories and to capture light from distant, dim objects, telescopes are growing larger. Due to the correspondingly large cost of construction and operation, these massive telescopes are often supported financially by multinational consortia.
2011 – Canadian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) managed a FY 2011 budget of C$## million (US$## million). This total, which included approximately C$## million (US$##) of economic stimulus funding, represented a record high for the CSA.
2011 – Brazilian Government Space Budget Snapshot
The National Congress of Brazil’s 2012 Federal Budget authorized ## million reais (US$## million) in funding for civil space activities in two civil government agencies. This represents an increase of ##% from the authorization for the previous year.
2011 – Probes – Snapshot
The second category of space and robotic exploration systems involves seeing the Universe through the eyes of a satellite. The advantage is that the satellite is able to capture images unaffected by the Earth’s atmosphere, enabling researchers to more accurately decipher the mysteries of the Universe.
2011 – Landers/Rovers – Snapshots
Another type of space and robotic exploration systems involves samples and observations being collected by systems located on the surface of other bodies in the Solar System. Several missions are in development both by government and commercial entities.
2011 – U.S. Civil Space Budgets – Snapshot
NASA’s FY 2011 actual budget, reached as a result of seven CRs and Public Law 112-10¸ decreased by ##% from the agency’s FY 2010 actual budget, including FY 2010 funds received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package. Operating under the series of CRs impacted NASA’s ability to effectively implement its programs. In 2010, Congress and the President agreed to cancel the planned Constellation Program. However, as a result of the CRs during FY 2011, NASA was required to continue spending funds on its existing programs, including Constellation. While flexibility in internal funds allocation allowed NASA to focus much of its Constellation spending during early 2011 on elements of the program which will continue in future years, including the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the J-2X rocket engine, funds were nonetheless spent on elements of the Constellation program which would not continue in the future.
2011 – U.S. National Security Space Budgets – Snapshot
Military space spending is significant but difficult to quantify because most nations do not publish budget and program information about space-related national security and intelligence activity. Additionally, space capabilities have become an integral part of modern warfare, and space programs therefore often receive supportive funding from secondary sources not clearly defined as space-related. Also, many missions labeled primarily as civil assets serve dual-purpose military objectives. For all of these reasons, the estimation of military space spending is uncertain.
2011 – Technology Development Satellites – Snapshot
Other national space agencies are also supporting key technology development efforts. In April 2011, ESA approved the development of Proba-3, a mission to demonstrate autonomous formation flying by spacecraft. Scheduled for launch in 2016, Proba-3 will feature two satellites that will fly in formation, maintaining a positional accuracy of a few millimeters at separation distances of up to 150 meters (500 feet) without any intervention from the ground.