Argentina Archives

2011 – Meteorology – Snapshot

Funding is a serious concern for government-supported remote sensing satellite endeavors. Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program is facing difficulties because of the global economic climate, which is forcing many space programs around the world to cut costs. In November 2011, the European Commission (EC) proposed moving funding for operating the GMES space segment from the 27-member commission to the individual EU member states.

2011 – South African Government Space Budget – Snapshot

Space activities in South Africa are funded through the Department of Science and Technology (DST). In FY 2011, which ran from April 2011 to March 2012, the DST planned to spend ## million rand (US$## million) on space activities executed through two programs: the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Space Science Research, Development and Innovation subprogram. SANSA, established in 2008, planned an FY 2011 budget of ## million rand (US$## million).

2010 – Brazilian Government Space Budget – Snapshot

The National Congress of Brazil’s 2011 Federal Budget authorizes ## million reais (US$## million) for activities associated with the National Program of Space Activities (PNAE), a decrease of ##% from the authorization for the previous year. This authorization includes ## million reais (US$## million) for the Brazilian space agency,
Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB), and ## million reais (US$## million) in capital investment associated with the Alcântara Space Centre.

2009 – Brazilian Government Space Budget – Snapshot

The National Congress of Brazil’s 2010 Federal Budget authorizes ## million Brazilian reals (US$## million) for activities associated with the National Program of Space Activities, a small increase from the previous year. This authorization includes ## million reals (US$## million) for the Brazilian space agency, Agência Espacial Brasileira (AEB), and ## million reals (US$## million) for the Alcântara Space Centre.

2009 – Government Space Budgets – Snapshot

Government space budgets are estimated at $## billion for 2009, comprising ##% of the global space economy. This funding supports military, civilian, and commercial space programs covering a broad variety of activities such as national security, scientific research, technology development, and social welfare that target health, rural communications, and emergency services. The U.S. government accounted for ##% of the global space economy in 2009, a slight increase from ##% of the total in 2008. International space budgets tracked in 2008 and 2009 increased by ##%.

2009 – Disaster Charter – Snapshot

Remote sensing satellites provide data to assess the scope and impact of disasters that have occurred. The information also enables planning for the mitigation of events that may occur. The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters provides a means for relief agencies to request satellite imagery of an area affected by a disaster.

2009 – Russian Government Space Budget – Snapshot

Russian space spending increased dramatically in 2009. The planned budget for Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, was more than ## billion rubles (US$## billion). This amount constitutes an increase of ##% from the previous year’s budget of ## billion rubles and represents approximately ##% of Russia’s ## trillion ruble (US$## billion) planned 2009 federal expenditures. This increase signifies both a positive view of the Russian space program within the Russian government and increased Russian government revenue due to oil markets.

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.

Disaster Charter Provides Timely Imagery to Response Teams

One of the key challenges in a flood involves getting timely and accurate information regarding flood-affected areas. Satellite imagery can mitigate the magnitude of flood damage by providing response teams with an overall image of the flooded area.