Russia
Detecting Poachers in Africa
Satellite technology can be critical to managing resources and protecting endangered species in natural areas with little existing infrastructure. The use of satellite images allows researchers to study patterns of deforestation caused by logging and land-clearing in remote areas of Africa and South America.
The Fifth Space Tourist
While communications satellites have long been used to help travelers arrange accommodations on Earth, commercial companies are developing an ability to provide accommodations in space. On April 7, 2007, software developer Charles Simonyi, the fifth orbital “private space explorer,” launched into space for a nearly two week stay aboard the International Space Station.
2007 – Russia Launch, Human
The Clipper (Kliper) vehicle, under design by Russia’s Energia, has not yet found a customer. Clipper may become a follow-on to the Soyuz vehicle, and has attracted interest from the European Space Agency (ESA) for ISS access. In 2006, Anatoly Perminov, the director of Russia’s Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), said the agency planned to start construction of the vehicle in 2012.
2006 – Space Industry Demographics – Snapshot
Although new hiring statistics are not uniformly available for other major civil space programs or international companies, steady growth in the global space industry over the past five years suggests that demand for skilled S&E workers with space-relevant skills exists around the world.
2005 – Probes
Currently, ## scientific satellites are in orbit around the Earth. These satellites address a wide array of scientific issues. For example, NASA characterizes scientific satellites by the following types: astronomy, earth science, planetary science, solar physics, space physics, life science, and microgravity.
2005 – ISS
The largest in-space platform ever constructed is the International Space Station (ISS). “Led by the United States, the ISS draws upon the scientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency [Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom], and Brazil,” according to NASA.
2005 – Government Space Budgets Overview
Non-U.S. military estimates, which are for 2004, include the following countries: United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Israel. China’s budget includes both military and civil expenditures. Note that the estimate of China’s space budget is controversial. At a NASA budget hearing in April 2006, much of the discussion was about the possible size of China’s space program and its ability to complete its plans to land astronauts on the Moon in 2017.
2005 Space Budget Allocations
Civil space programs have major science directorates that guide programmatic decisions. Divisions for Solar System Exploration, Structure & Evolution of the Universe, and Astronomical Search for Origins are all found in NASA’s $## billion 2005 space science budget.
The Tangible Benefits of Space Research Realized
Space-based platforms provide unique opportunities for microgravity research and international scientific cooperation. The ISS, the space shuttles, Skylab, Russia’s Mir Space Station and Soyuz, and the Chinese Shenzhou have enabled microgravity research.
Lunar and Interplanetary Exploration
More than ## missions carrying scientific instruments, in the form of probes and rovers, have been launched into the solar system to study planets, comets, asteroids, and other phenomena. These instruments return valuable scientific data on the history and nature of the solar system. Recently, NASA launched the New Horizons probe in January 2006 to study Pluto.