Russia
2009 – Commercial Human Spaceflight – Snapshot
Revenue from in-space activities derives mainly from commercial business taking place in space or transportation services to and from space. For example, governments plan to use the private sector to deliver cargo, and eventually astronauts, to the ISS. In the future, other in-space markets could include research and development services, manufacturing, satellite refueling, and orbital debris clean-up. Based on current in-orbit activity, there are three main categories: platform-based services, transportation-based services, and personal spaceflight.
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 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts – Snapshot
In 2009, a total of ## orbital launches took place from ## spaceports around the world. These launches carried ## payloads for militaries, civil government organizations, commercial entities, and universities into Earth orbit and destinations beyond.
2009 – Space Stations – Snapshot
The largest in-space platform is the International Space Station. NASA, the main contributor to the ISS, received $## billion for the station 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. During 2009, two major modules were added: the final truss segment and a section of the solar array. The truss acts as the junction through which external utilities, such as power, communications, and ammonia for thermal control systems, are routed to the pressurized modules.
2009 – Human Launch -Snapshot
In addition to government human spaceflight efforts, some companies are developing commercial systems for orbital human spaceflight. Several American companies have shown an interest in orbital human spaceflight to serve both government and commercial customers. SpaceX has designed its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon capsule to be able to support human missions, although that is not a requirement under the terms of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program run by NASA. Orbital Sciences, the other U.S. company with a funded COTS agreement, has expressed interest in developing a crewed version of its Cygnus cargo spacecraft that would be able to carry three or four astronauts.
2009 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
In 2009, ## orbital launches were conducted, carrying ## payloads into space, including cargo, satellites, and other types of spacecraft. This marked a notable increase from the 2008 total of ## launches carrying 106 payloads, and continued a five-year trend of annual increases in launch activity. The 2005 total of ## launches and ## payloads began a period of #% average annual increase in launches. Of the ## launches in 2009, ## were conducted by commercial launch providers and ## were non-commercial.
2009 – Russia Human Launch – Snapshot
Russia increased in its human spaceflight operations significantly in 2009 by doubling the launch rate of its Soyuz spacecraft. Russia had been launching Soyuz missions twice a year, roughly six months apart, to support three-person crews on the ISS. In 2009, Russia launched four Soyuz missions, each carrying three people. This increased flight rate reflects the transition to six-person ISS crews now that the station can accommodate its full crew complement. Once the Space Shuttle is retired, Soyuz will be the sole provider of ISS crew transfers until an alternative system is in place. The four Soyuz flights in 2009 also carried two private spaceflight participants on trips arranged by U.S. company Space Adventures.
2009 – Spaceports – Snapshot
Spaceports operate around the world, offering different capabilities and operational scale. In its most basic form, a spaceport is a facility dedicated to launching an orbital or suborbital craft. This can be as basic and streamlined as a concrete pad, a launch rail, a fuel depot, and a simple control room. Alternatively, it can be a huge facility that extends over of hundreds of square kilometers and incorporates tracking stations, payload processing and integration facilities, long runways, and additional facilities for visitors and media.
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.