2008
2008 – Education – Snapshot
With 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.
2008 – Degrees Awarded – Snapshot
The 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.
2008 – South Korean Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In 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.
2008 – Japanese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The 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$2.08 billion. These funds are allocated to scientific and exploration missions including Planet C, a Venus exploration probe; GPM/DPR, a global precipitation measurement satellite; BepiColombo, a joint European-Japan Mercury mission; GCOM, a climate monitoring mission; and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System for space-based communications and navigation. In addition, Japan continues development of the H-IIB vehicle, an enhanced version of its current H-IIA vehicle. The H-IIB booster will carry the H-II Transfer Vehicle, a cargo supply module, to the ISS.
2008 – Israeli Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Israel’s 2008 space budget was ## million Israeli new shekels (US$## million), roughly ##% of the country’s national budget of ## billion Israeli new shekels (US$## billion). Most of Israel’s space spending has focused on military applications such as the Ofeq spy satellites and the Shavit-1 booster.
2008 – Indian Government Space Budget
The budget of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has grown significantly over the last decade, increasing from ## billion rupees (US$## million) in 1996 to ## billion rupees (US$## million) in the fiscal year 2008–2009 budget.
2008 – United Kingdom Government Space Budget – Snapshot
The UK Civil Space Strategy 2008-2012 and Beyond, updated in early 2008, recommends spending for climatology, Earth observation, and Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) satellites. The United Kingdom’s leadership in the field of disaster monitoring continued in 2008, as DMC imagery provided vital information in regions hit by natural disasters. There are also plans to supply climate researchers with free imagery from the next generation of DMC satellites.
2008 – Italian Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Italy added to its Earth observation constellation with the October 2008 launch of the third COSMO-SkyMed satellite. Developed through an agreement between the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), and the Italian Ministry of Defence, the COSMO-SkyMed program is estimated to cost €## billion (US$## billion). The imagery collected by the radar satellites is expected to serve both military and civil government purposes.
2008 – Russian Spaceports – Snapshot
Founded in 1955 by the Soviet Union, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is the world’s oldest and largest spaceport. It supports several generations of Russian spacecraft: Soyuz, Molniya, Proton, Tsyklon, Dnepr, and the Zenit. Baikonur’s storied history dates back to the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, the event that set in motion the Cold War “space race.”
2008 – U.S. Spaceports – Snapshot
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) lies on the Atlantic shore of Florida, almost directly east of Orlando, and adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The spaceport supports a mix of government civil, military, and commercial launches. Primary users of CCAFS include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA, and private launch service providers.