Japan
2010 – Japanese Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
According to data from the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies (SJAC), Japan’s space employment dropped precipitously between 2007 and 2008, but then rebounded even more sharply from 2008 to 2009, as shown in Exhibit 4l. The SJAC calculated a ##% decline in industry employment, from ## in 2007 to ## in 2008—the largest year-on-year decline since 1996, with more than ## positions eliminated.
2010 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts – Snapshot
Launch vehicles can be grouped into two categories. The first consists of vehicles that can propel their payloads fast enough at a sufficient altitude to achieve orbit. A launch vehicle that is unable to place a payload in orbit, but can still carry a payload into space, is referred to as a suborbital launch vehicle.
2010 – Probes – Snapshot
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft was launched in March 2009 aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Kepler’s mission is to monitor the brightness of more than 100,000 stars in a single region of the sky for at least three years.
2010 – Infrastructure Metrics – Snapshot
Some accepted estimation methods fais to take into account the fact that not all launch vehicles are equal. The smallest orbital launch vehicles can place payloads of only a few hundred kilograms into orbit, while the largest vehicles can carry tens of thousands of kilograms. This section explains how the Space Foundation provides meaningful methods of measuring space infrastructure.
2010 – Japanese Government Space Budget – Snapshot
In FY 2010, Japan’s national budget allocated ¥## billion (US$## billion) for space programs across the government, a decrease of ##% from the previous year’s total of ¥## billion. This represents approximately ##% of the country’s ¥## trillion (US$## trillion) national budget. Japanese space spending is allocated among several government ministries, coordinated through the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy. In FY 2010 the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), funded through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, was operated with a budget of ¥## billion (US$## billion), representing approximately ##% of Japan’s space spending.
2010 – Bigelow Space Stations – Snapshot
Bigelow Aerospace has been working for several years to develop commercial orbital habitats using expandable modules. This approach, leveraging technology licensed from NASA, involves launching modules in a compact form and inflating them once in orbit, creating much larger volumes than would be possible with traditional metallic structures.
2010 – Space Stations – Snapshot
The ISS is the only crewed space station in orbit. Due to be completed in 2011, the ISS is also the most active and massive space station ever deployed. NASA, a main contributor, received $## billion for the ISS in fiscal year (FY) 2010 compared to $## billion approved by Congress in FY 2009. This funding does not include flight or ground operations costs of shuttle flights to and from the ISS. Two new modules were added to the ISS during 2010. In February, Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered the Tranquility module, which contains life support systems and a unique seven-windowed cupola from which astronauts can conduct robotic operations.
2010 – Demographics – Snapshot
The United States, Canada, and Europe together comprised about 35% of first-degree STEM graduates. Japan and South Korea comprised 8% and 6%, respectively, while Australia comprised 2%. Europe led in STEM doctoral degree production, comprising 44% of the total as of 2006 and experiencing growth of 29% between 2002 and 2006.
2010 – Degrees Awarded – Snapshot
While mechanisms such as the PISA test reveal a cross-national focus on primary and secondary STEM competency, a more direct measure of the potential international space workforce is offered through a comparative analysis of STEM university graduates by country.
2010 – Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems – Snapshot
Note: This exhibit is from The Space Report 2011.