United States
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.
Satellite Radio and Navigation Gaming
The Apple iPhone and other competing products continued to evolve throughout 2009, offering new features and applications enhanced through satellite technology. SIRIUS XM Radio debuted SkyDock, the first radio dock for the iPhone, essentially transforming the smartphone into a satellite radio.
Satellite Communications and Navigation for Snow Dogs
Satellite technology is used to both protect and assist competitors in the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska, using GPS services supported by the Iridium communications satellite system. The Iditarod Trail Committee is now requiring that the tracking device, provided by race-tracking company IonEarth, be attached to each dog sled.
Integrating Gaming with GPS
The satellite-based GPS network provides the basis for a number of new products. Garmin, Magellan, and other manufacturers have created innovative units such as a waterproof handheld GPS device for golfers that calculates distances to the green and other points on a golf course, providing the user with precise information for club selection and strategy.
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 – U.S. Space Workforce – Snapshot
More than a ## million people in the United States are employed in the space industry, according to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This level of employment has remained relatively stable throughout the first decade of the 21st century, never dropping below ##.
2009 – U.S. National Security Workforce – Snapshot
Somewhat less transparent than U.S. private sector and civil space employment is the U.S. military space workforce. A number of nations besides the United States are developing military space capabilities, and the scope of military space theory has broadened in response to changing military doctrines, technological advances, and asymmetrical warfare.
2009 – Suborbital Payload Launch – Snapshot
There is growing interest in suborbital reusable launch vehicles to conduct experiments and research. Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, is developing the Extreme Altitude series of unmanned suborbital vehicles to carry experimental payloads. The company is offering to launch payloads at a price of $## per kilogram ($## per pound), or a “Sodasat” payload for $##, so named because its size and mass is similar to that of a can of soda.
2009 – Non U.S. Launch and Payload – Snapshot
The Sea Launch consortium operates a derivative of the Ukrainian Zenit 2 rocket, modified with Russian and American components and used by Sea Launch as its standard booster since the company’s first launch in 1999. The Zenit-3SL rocket launches from Sea Launch’s ocean platform. A variant of this system, the Zenit-3SLB, launches from the Zenit pad at Baikonur, Kazakhstan.