Economy
Commercial Infrastructure and Support Industries
Economy: Space Economy – TSR 2012
2011 – Commercial Human Spaceflight – Snapshot
New commercial transportation services are in development to carry cargo, passengers, and astronauts into space. In the United States, the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011 creates an opportunity for new commercial cargo transportation services to resupply the ISS. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, started in 2006, is designed to help develop U.S. commercial cargo transportation systems. Through Space Act Agreements, SpaceX and Orbital will receive up to $## million upon successful completion of their current agreements in 2012. In April 2011, NASA estimated that it would invest a total of $## million in the COTS program from its beginning in 2006 to its completion in 2012. This figure exceeds the original program cost estimate of $## million. The bulk of COTS funding has been directed to two launch vehicles and associated spacecraft: Orbital Sciences’ Antares (formerly Taurus II) rocket with its Cygnus spacecraft, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon spacecraft. Both SpaceX and Orbital have won contracts under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiative, a follow-on to the COTS program, to provide cargo supply services to the ISS. Under these contracts, SpaceX and Orbital are required to launch a total of 20 tons of cargo each to the ISS through 2016.
2011 – Space Insurance – Snapshot
The satellite insurance industry saw profits decline in 2011 but the industry was still profitable, continuing a decade of strong performance. Aon/ ISB, an insurance brokerage, reported that the space insurance industry in 2011 collected premiums totaling approximately $## million while spending totaled $## million on claims.
2011 – Ground Stations and Receivers Snapshot
The ground equipment market totaled an estimated $## billion in 2011, a ##% increase compared to $## billion for 2010. Ground equipment includes all Earth-based infrastructure and technology necessary to…
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 – Satellite Manufacturing – Snapshot
In 2011, a total of ## satellites—of which 40 were commercial—were launched into space, an increase of #% from the ## satellites launched in 2010. This total includes most spacecraft but excludes missions to the ISS or short-term technology demonstration missions. The ## satellites represented approximately $## billion in manufacturing revenue, compared to the 2010 total of $## billion. During the past five years, the number of satellites in each mass class has remained relatively consistent.
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 – Commercial Infrastructure and Support Industries Snapshot
Revenue for commercial space infrastructure, which includes satellite manufacturing, launch services, space stations, ground stations, and associated equipment, totaled $## billion in 2011. Information regarding government spending on space infrastructure can be found in the Government Space Budgets section.
2011 – Economy Snapshot
The global space industry showed very strong growth in 2011, increasing more than ##% from 2010. Commercial space revenue and government budgets reached a record total of $## billion in 2011. This follows a trend of continuing expansion in the global space economy, demonstrating a five-year growth rate of ##% from $## billion in 2006, with the largest growth registered in commercial infrastructure and support industries.