Browse Resources by Year

2009 – Bigelow Space Stations – Snapshot

Another type of in-space platform currently under development is Bigelow Aerospace’s Sundancer, an inflatable habitat tentatively scheduled for launch in 2011. Sundancer builds upon the success of the Genesis I and II demonstration modules, launched in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Sundancer is intended to accommodate experiments and support humans in orbit.

2009 – U.S. Suborbital – Snapshot

Although no suborbital human-rated vehicles flew in 2009, there was considerable progress by several companies actively developing such vehicles. Among the most visible of these was the formal unveiling in December 2009 of SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital vehicle built by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture of Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites. The event culminated a year of continued development of SpaceShipTwo and its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo. In May 2009, Virgin Galactic announced the beginning of tests of the rocket motor that will power SpaceShipTwo on its suborbital flights. The hybrid rocket motor uses a solid fuel and liquid nitrous oxide oxidizer developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation, the company that developed the rocket motor for SpaceShipOne.

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.