Russia
2011 – Other Space Employment Snapshot
In December 2011, Reuters reported that the Russian space workforce numbered 250,000 professionals, 90% of whom are older than 60 or younger than 30. Demographically, Russia faces a very different situation than the United States, where these two age groups make up less than 20% of the workforce.
2011 – Space Stations – Snapshot
The ISS reached core completion in 2011. The largest funding contributor to the ISS, NASA, received $## billion for the ISS in fiscal year (FY) 2011, compared to $## billion in actual spending during FY 2010. During 2011, the final ## flights of the Space Shuttle occurred. Those flights delivered cargo, crew, the Permanent Multipurpose Module, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, and the Robotic Refueling Mission testbed to the ISS.
2011 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
In 2011, ## launches were attempted carrying ## payloads, including satellites, interplanetary probes, and flights to the International Space Station (ISS). Compared to the 2010 total of ## launches, this represents a ##% increase in launch rate.
2011 – Russian Space Station – Snapshot
In June 2009, Roscosmos informed the United States of its intention to develop an orbital research facility by the time the ISS is retired. This complex would be known as the Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex (OPSEK). The Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module and Node Module are expected to dock with the ISS in 2012, but whenever the decommissioning of the ISS occurs, Roscosmos intends to detach those modules to use as the basis for OPSEK.
Workforce: Workforce and Education – TSR 2011
Infrastructure: Space Infrastructure – TSR 2011
Economy: Space Economy – TSR 2011
2010 – International Space Station (ISS) – Snapshot
The ISS is a joint project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and 11 of ESA’s member states to build and operate a research facility in LEO that can host crews of up to six people. Assembly of the ISS in space began in 1998.
2010 – Military Satellite Overview – Snapshot
One classification of satellite is based not just on the spacecraft’s capabilities. Military satellites are generally characterized by the end users they are built to serve, not the type of service provided. Although they may perform the same functions as their non-defense counterparts, such as communication or remote sensing, they are instead operated by national intelligence or defense personnel. Armed forces from across the globe also rely on leased capacity from commercial satellite operators.
2010 – India’s Launch Efforts – Snapshot
India conducted ## launches in 2010, up from two in 2009. However, ## of the ## in 2010 were unsuccessful. The ## ## used the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to carry into orbit two remote sensing satellites, one of which was Indian and the other Algerian, along with several small technology demonstration craft.