Government Space Budgets

European Cooperative Organization and Government Space Budgets


2009 – European Space Agency Budget – Snapshot

With 18 member states, ESA had a 2009 budget of €## billion (US$## billion), approximately ##% more than the 2008 budget of €## billion (US$## billion). The largest ESA funding line items are the Ariane and Vega launch vehicles, at ##% of ESA’s 2009 budget, and Earth observation activities at ##% of the budget, including projects such as the European Remote Sensing series of satellites, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite, and the new Sentinel series of satellites to be developed in connection with GMES.

Read More


2009 – European Commission Space Budget – Snapshot

The 2009 budget of the European Commission includes €## billion (US$## billion) in funding for space-related programs. The EC space-related budget focuses on three primary areas: space research, security research, and European satellite navigation programs. The space and security research areas are executed through the EC’s Seventh Framework Program, which provides research and development funding to European Union member states on a competitive basis.

Read More


2008 – United Kingdom Government Space Budget – Snapshot

The UK Civil Space Strategy 2008-2012 and Beyond, updated in early 2008, recommends spending for climatology, Earth observation, and Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) satellites. The United Kingdom’s leadership in the field of disaster monitoring continued in 2008, as DMC imagery provided vital information in regions hit by natural disasters. There are also plans to supply climate researchers with free imagery from the next generation of DMC satellites.

Read More


2008 – Italian Government Space Budget – Snapshot

Italy added to its Earth observation constellation with the October 2008 launch of the third COSMO-SkyMed satellite. Developed through an agreement between the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), and the Italian Ministry of Defence, the COSMO-SkyMed program is estimated to cost €## billion (US$## billion). The imagery collected by the radar satellites is expected to serve both military and civil government purposes.

Read More


2008 – German Government Space Budget – Snapshot

Germany is investing in surface system robotics and enhancements in synthetic aperture radar technology, including the TerraSAR-L satellite, a follow-on to its successful TerraSAR-X Earth observation mission. The German Aerospace Center, DLR, engaged in a public-private partnership with Astrium GmbH to produce TerraSAR-X at a total cost of €## million (US$## million), including manufacturing and launch. The launch of the radar-imagery satellite SAR-Lupe 5 in July 2008 marked the completion of Germany’s first satellite-supported reconnaissance system, estimated to have a total project cost of €## million (US$## million).

Read More


2008 – French Government Space Budget – Snapshot

Priorities for France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) in 2009 include further refinement of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and an ongoing role in developing Europe’s new Vega small launch vehicle. Forty CNES and EADS Astrium engineers spent six months preparing the ATV for its March 2008 flight, which proceeded smoothly. This marked the beginning of operations for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Control Centre in Toulouse, France, which seven months later guided the ATV through a planned destructive re-entry.

Read More


2008 – European Space Agency Budget – Snapshot

The European Space Agency (ESA), with 18 member states, had a 2008 budget of about €## billion (US$## billion). ESA is projecting a budget of €## billion (US$## billion) for the three years from 2009–2011. One feature of the budget will be a ##% per year growth in the agency’s basic science budget. The combined civil space spending for 2008, including both national space programs and ESA contributions of the four largest members, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, amounted to about €## billion (US$## billion), approximately ##% of their averaged national budgets.

Read More


2007 – European Military Space Budget

Military space spending among European countries in 2006 totaled $## billion (€## million), according to the European Space Policy Institute, a research institute founded and supported by European aerospace industry partners. For 2004, Euroconsult estimates non-U.S. space spending at $## billion. Countries included in this estimate are the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Israel. Data on international military space spending is generally held closely and difficult to find in public sources. Until better data becomes available, we will continue to use this 2004 figure as an estimate in our aggregated number.

Read More


2007 – European Space Agency Budget

The largest international civilian space budget is that of ESA. The agency’s 2007 budget was approximately $## billion. This budget is funded by mandatory as well as voluntary contributions by ESA member states, cooperating states and third parties.

Read More