Infrastructure
2011 – Brazilian Spaceports – Snapshot
After several years of low activity, Brazil pledged in late 2011 to more than double its space budget for the years 2012-2015 with the aim of revitalizing the facilities at its Alcântara spaceport located on the northern coast of the country. Following a launch pad explosion in 2003 that killed 21 people, relatively little progress has been made at Alcântara, and no orbital launch attempts have been made.
2011 – Indian Spaceports Snapshot
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located on the east coast of India, is expanding to provide greater flexibility and permit a higher launch rate while supporting the launch of India’s upcoming GSLV Mk. III heavy-lift vehicle. ISRO completed an upgrade to the center in 2005, adding a second launch pad capable of processing and launching any of India’s orbital vehicles. The latest expansion will add a third launch pad to the complex, enabling India to launch more often and with fewer scheduling restrictions.
2011 – Russian Spaceports Snapshot
After several years of delays and false starts, Russia began construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East in January 2011. During the year, workers completed geological surveys of the site and approved overall site plans. Workers’ housing and other preliminary facilities were completed and improvements have been made in the road and rail network connecting them with the site.
2011 – U.S. Spaceports Snapshot
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, is the only spaceport in the United States that currently supports orbital human spaceflight, and it has been dramatically affected by the end of the Space Shuttle Program. As the home of the shuttle, KSC has seen its workforce decrease significantly as the program ended. More than ## workers at KSC lost their jobs over the past two years.
2011 – Spaceports Overview Snapshot
Spaceport infrastructure in the United States is in transition as NASA makes changes at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to accommodate new launch systems in the post-shuttle era. Construction continued on new and upgraded facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, and Spaceport America in New Mexico. China and Russia also continued development of new spaceports during 2011.
2011 – U.S. Space Surveillance Network – Snapshot
A series of SSN upgrades are underway. In 2011, a DARPA-funded space surveillance telescope underwent testing. After nine years of development, the new telescope, located at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, is capable of capturing wide-field views of objects in GEO orbit. While the SSN uses radar signals to track objects in LEO, distant objects in GEO orbits are tracked by optical systems such as the DARPA telescope at White Sands and other telescopes in Hawaii; Socorro, New Mexico; and the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
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.
2011 – Ground Networks – Snapshot
Earth observation satellites produce the largest amounts of data to be transmitted to Earth on a regular basis and thus require dedicated data processing ground stations. While all satellites require ground stations to keep track of them and relay commands, Earth observation satellites are specifically intended to gather large amounts of data through a variety of sensors and then transmit that data back down for interpretation and storage.
Infrastructure: Space Infrastructure – TSR 2011
2010 – The Government Role in Developing Space Products and Services
Individuals, companies, and nations continue to create many other space-related products and services. Governments, which benefit directly and indirectly from new space products and services, often play an important supporting role in their development.