Snapshot
2009 – U.S. Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
According to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than a quarter million Americans are employed in the space industry. The most recent (2006) estimate by the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation calculates the combined direct and indirect value of the U.S. space industry, including the secondary and tertiary economic activities it enables, at approximately $## billion.
2009 – Japanese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In FY 2009, Japan’s national budget allocated ¥## billion (US$## billion) for space programs across the government, an increase of approximately ##% from the previous year’s total of ¥## billion. This represents approximately ##% of the country’s ¥## trillion (US$## trillion) national budget. The Japanese government approved Japan’s first national strategy for space activities, the Basic Space Plan, in June 2009. The strategy was accompanied by increases in financial resources for Japanese space activities. The Basic Space Plan lays out the tenets of Japanese space strategy for the 2009 to 2013 time frame, with the goal of improving the international competitive position of Japan’s space-related industries.
2009 – Ground Networks – Snapshot
Ground stations are an essential but often overlooked segment of space infrastructure. Ground stations connect satellites to terrestrial networks and collect satellite information ranging from tracking and telemetry to imagery and scientific data. The stations also upload information to spacecraft, including command and control data, software upgrades, and other mission-critical instructions. Employees at some ground stations process, analyze, and distribute satellite-based data, products, and services.
2009 – Meteorology – Snapshot
NASA operates or participates in more than a dozen remote sensing satellites and international programs. The Jason satellite, a joint mission between France and the United States that follows the highly successful TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter mission, has measured an increasing rate of sea level rise. Data from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have shown rapid changes in the Earth’s ice sheets.
2009 – Iranian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In early 2009, Iran achieved a major milestone by successfully orbiting an Iranian spacecraft, Omid (Hope), in low Earth orbit aboard an indigenously built Safir rocket. The Iranian Communications Minister announced plans to manufacture seven additional satellites as well as undertake a 12-year human spaceflight program.
2009 – Israeli Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Civil space expenditures in Israel are modest, with an estimated expenditure of ## million New Israeli Shekels (US$## million) in 2009. Israel devotes most of its space spending to military space programs, with an annual budget of approximately ## million New Israeli Shekels (US$## million).
2009 – Earth Observation and Remote Sensing – Snapshot
Spacecraft are used to provide detailed images of the Earth and measure ocean temperature, vegetation coverage, pollution levels, and other phenomena. These remote sensing satellites are used for civil, scientific, and military applications. They make it possible to do everything from viewing an individual’s house on Google Earth and forecasting the path of potential hurricanes to providing key data for first responders in areas affected by natural disasters.
2009 – PISA Test Snapshot
An examination of PISA test scores among 14 countries active in space offers a more focused view of relative math and science literacy, which has implications for the numbers of STEM graduates each country produces and in turn the supply of STEM-skilled workers available for space-related professions. Exhibit 4bb shows national PISA test scores from 2009 for major space countries in mathematics and science.
2009 – Indian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
For FY 2009, the budget of India’s Department of Space (DOS), which includes funding for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and several smaller autonomous agencies, was ## billion rupees (US$## billion), an increase of ##% from the previous year’s budget of ## billion rupees.[
2009 – STEM Degrees Awarded – Snapshot
Note: This section’s exhibits are from The Space Report 2012. At the university level, the United States produced approximately 240,000 STEM-trained bachelor’s degree graduates, 75,000 master’s degree graduates, and 22,000 doctoral graduates in 2009. These graduates earned degrees in physical… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, Packed…