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Overall government investment in space remains strong and growing, although the effect of smaller budgets is being seen in some places, including the United States, where 2011 government space spending was below the 2010 level. While the United States remains responsible for ##% of global government space spending, other governments appropriate significant amounts. Some, such as Brazil, Israel, and Russia, are on the cusp or in the midst of major increases in government space appropriations. Government space programs accounted for approximately $## billion in spending during 2011, which represents ##% of the total global space economy.
Read MoreOnce launched, satellites generally cannot be refueled or repaired. Satellites have lifetimes limited by the amount of propellant they can carry on board to maintain their orbits. A failure of a key system on a satellite can partially or totally disable the spacecraft, causing a disruption in service and potentially creating a hazard for other satellites.
Read MoreFor half a century, human beings have been traveling to and from Earth’s orbit. Since the April 12, 1961 flight of Yuri Gagarin, 523 spacefarers from 34 countries have flown in space. The applications and services generated by space activities have become an integral aspect of life on Earth.
Read MoreThe European Union (EU) is developing a PNT system called Galileo. The Galileo constellation will consist of ## operational satellites and three in-orbit spares. In October 2011, the first ## Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites were launched, and ## more IOV spacecraft were scheduled to launch by mid-2012. The initial Galileo constellation is expected to be in place between 2014 and 2016. However, financing may be a concern. The EU has already approved contracts for ## additional satellites with OHB of Germany, but the number of additional satellites that can be ordered depends in part on the European Commission’s calculation of exactly how much money remains in the seven-year budget, with the next budget commencing in 2014.
Read MoreSince 2000, China has also been building its own national PNT system, known as Beidou (the Mandarin name for the constellation otherwise known as the Big Dipper). China launched ## satellites in 2011 to join the ## currently in orbit. These satellites will later become part of a global constellation, Compass, which is planned to consist of ## MEO satellites for global coverage and ## GEO satellites that will focus on regional coverage over China. Beidou began operating in December 2011, providing initial PNT services to a swath of the Asia-Pacific region from Australia in the south to Russia in the north with an accuracy of 25 meters (82 feet).
Read MoreThe events of 2011 marked a transition in the U.S. human spaceflight program with the retirement of the Space Shuttle. In the near term, NASA will rely on Russia to transport its astronauts to the ISS. However, the United States is pursuing development of several human spaceflight systems that are expected to take over U.S. crew transportation duties to the ISS and allow U.S. astronauts to travel beyond Earth orbit to explore destinations throughout the Solar System.
Read MoreA launch in October 2011 raised the number of operational satellites in Russia’s GLONASS system to ##, enabling full global coverage for the first time since the 1990s. GLONASS was designed to serve both military and civilian populations. The original Soviet system began deployment with the 1982 launch of its first satellite. However, due in part to Russia’s economic difficulties in the 1990s, the network fell into disrepair. In 2001, President Vladimir Putin ordered a 10-year, $## billion modernization program.
Read MoreAlthough many generically use the term “GPS” to refer to the overall concept of satellite-based navigation, this acronym only refers to one specific network. The U.S. Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (NAVSTAR-GPS or GPS) was developed and deployed by the U.S. Air Force and was the first fully operational global satellite-based navigation network. The GPS constellation nominally requires ## operating satellites but in practice maintains more satellites in orbit.
Read MoreChina made great strides in 2011 toward developing its own modular space station, through the successful launch of the Tiangong-1 laboratory and rendezvous and docking with an unmanned Shenzhou-8 space vehicle. Two more Shenzhou missions are expected to dock with the module in 2012, with at least one of the missions carrying a crew.
Read MoreBlue Origin, a secretive company funded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, revealed in September 2011 that in August it had suffered a failure of one of its New Shepard suborbital test vehicles. The company reported that it lost control of its PM 2 vehicle at an altitude of 13,700 meters (45,000 feet) and a speed of Mach 1.2.
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