European Multinational Efforts
Telecommunications Support For Disaster Relief Efforts
In the hours and days after a natural disaster occurs, satellite communications serve a vital role in coordinating humanitarian response when terrestrial communications systems are overwhelmed with heavy call traffic or rendered inactive due to damage.
Water Management With TIGER
Satellite-enabled measurement is becoming increasingly important in water resources management. Since 2002, ESA’s TIGER Initiative has supported projects in Africa that leverage remote sensing satellite technology to better manage increasingly scarce water resources.
Seeing the World Through Astronaut Eyes
Several new products and services in the entertainment sector emerged in 2009 utilizing satellite image and video relay capabilities. NASA posted a “Live Space Station Video” link on its web site in March 2009 that displays live video from outside the ISS.
2009 – Global Space Workforce and Education – Snapshot
Nations around the world recognize the potential of space activity to create high-paying jobs, enable new industries and technologies, increase national competitiveness, and add value to the economy. Building for a future that envisions their increasing participation in space, countries are responding with notable human capital investments that combine traditional models of space education with emerging new approaches.
2009 – ISS – Snapshot
The best-known in-space platform is the International Space Station (ISS), a project led by the United States in conjunction with Russia, Canada, Japan, and several member nations of ESA. The ISS operates in LEO and serves as a research facility and testing laboratory. The station has been crewed by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations and has been serviced by a variety of spacecraft.
2009 – European Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
By 2008, European space employment reached ## full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, which remains ##% lower than the near-historic high in 2001, when employment totaled approximately ## jobs with ##% annual growth. Space employment fell each year from 2002 to 2005, including a ##% decrease in 2005 when space employment fell to ## FTE employees. Beginning in 2006, growth resumed, with ##% employment growth in 2008.
2009 – European Space Workforce – Snapshot
Revenue growth among the largest European space companies in 2009 suggests that the European space industry will weather the current recession with only marginal impact on employment. For the European space workforce, 2008 was a year of growth as the industry continued to recover from a decline linked to the 2000–2001 downturn which impacted the global satellite communications industry. Leading Europe’s 2008 space employment growth were European spacecraft manufacturers, which also constitute its largest segment in employment terms. Employment among ground systems providers has historically accounted for roughly ##% of Europe’s space workforce.
2009 – Europe Launch and Payload – Snapshot
Europe’s space launch capability is managed by ESA via France-based Arianespace, a public-private consortium of 23 shareholders and ten European nations. European launches are conducted using facilities located at Kourou in French Guiana. While this site has seen a progression of rockets lift off from its pads, in recent years only the Ariane 5 launched from Kourou.
2009 – Government Space Budgets – Snapshot
Government space budgets are estimated at $## billion for 2009, comprising ##% of the global space economy. This funding supports military, civilian, and commercial space programs covering a broad variety of activities such as national security, scientific research, technology development, and social welfare that target health, rural communications, and emergency services. The U.S. government accounted for ##% of the global space economy in 2009, a slight increase from ##% of the total in 2008. International space budgets tracked in 2008 and 2009 increased by ##%.
2009 – Satellite Radio – Snapshot
The digital audio radio services sector, known as satellite radio, experienced a slight decline in 2009 due to the sluggish economy and a poor year for the auto industry. Satellite radio revenue decreased to an estimated $## billion in 2009 compared to $## billion in 2008. It is expected that growth in the satellite radio market will continue to be closely tied to the economic situation in the United States, particularly to the negative impact of declining sales in the…