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GEO satellites provide coverage of a wide area from a relatively fixed position, making them ideal for broadcast applications to multiple downlink sites, as well as for networking services to widely dispersed corporate and government facilities. Video distribution, point-to-point video feeds, also known as “backhauls,” and Direct-To-Home (DTH) television services represented three-quarters of total satellite services revenues in 2007.
Read MoreThe space industry continued to grow in 2008 with estimated global space revenues and government budgets reaching $## billion. This trend of growth has persisted since the Space Foundation began tracking global budgets and revenues for the industry in 2005. While past years have shown stronger growth, the trend remains positive despite the global economic crisis.
Read MoreThe trends examined in this section of the report are based primarily on U.S. government statistics. The main sources of data include the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read MoreWith its many education-dependent career tracks, the space industry is an end user of America’s K-12 system. The problem is that the U.S. education system is not producing students in quantity and at a level of achievement to be globally competitive. Reforms such as the No Child Left Behind Act are important initiatives for the nation’s school children but, to date, have produced improvements that fall short of space industry needs.
Read MoreThe National Science Foundation tracks “first university degrees,” equivalent to a four-year undergraduate degree in the United States, for six countries: the ##, ##, ##, ##, ##, and the ##. In 2004, the most recent year for which data is available for all six countries, the ## was the leading country in issuing first university degrees in all fields, topping ## million, with ## in second place at ## million.
Read MoreIn 2008, South Korea spent an estimated ## billion won (US$## million) on civil space, approximately ##% of its national budget. In addition to scientific and remote sensing satellites, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology are funding the US$## million development of the country’s first orbital launch facility, the Naro Space Center, as well as the Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Read MoreThe 2008 Japanese space budget was about US$## billion, approximately ##% of the country’s ¥## trillion (US$## billion) national budget. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) received US$2.08 billion. These funds are allocated to scientific and exploration missions including Planet C, a Venus exploration probe; GPM/DPR, a global precipitation measurement satellite; BepiColombo, a joint European-Japan Mercury mission; GCOM, a climate monitoring mission; and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System for space-based communications and navigation. In addition, Japan continues development of the H-IIB vehicle, an enhanced version of its current H-IIA vehicle. The H-IIB booster will carry the H-II Transfer Vehicle, a cargo supply module, to the ISS.
Read MoreIsrael’s 2008 space budget was ## million Israeli new shekels (US$## million), roughly ##% of the country’s national budget of ## billion Israeli new shekels (US$## billion). Most of Israel’s space spending has focused on military applications such as the Ofeq spy satellites and the Shavit-1 booster.
Read MoreThe budget of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has grown significantly over the last decade, increasing from ## billion rupees (US$## million) in 1996 to ## billion rupees (US$## million) in the fiscal year 2008–2009 budget.
Read MoreThe 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.
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