European Multinational Efforts
2008 – U.S. Suborbital
The SpaceShipTwo vehicle, scheduled to begin commercial service by 2010, is the product of The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic. The design of SpaceShipTwo is similar to that of SpaceShipOne, the only suborbital spacecraft with a demonstrated capacity for carrying humans. A carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, unveiled in July 2008, is designed to carry SpaceShipTwo to launch altitude and release the spacecraft, which will then ignite rockets to achieve suborbital altitude before returning to the Earth. SpaceShipTwo can accommodate up to six passengers and two pilots. In addition to human suborbital spaceflight, Virgin Galactic has explored the idea of launching suborbital cargoes aboard SpaceShipTwo, such as U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climatology experiments.
2008 – Europe Launch, Payload
Europe’s Ariane 5 is operated by the French company Arianespace for both government and commercial use. Since 2005, the Ariane 5 has consistently performed ## or ## launches per year, deploying a mix of commercial and government satellites to GEO. In 2008, the Ariane 5 conducted ## launches, ## of which deployed ESA’s Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).
2008 – Russia Launch, Payload
In each of the past five years from 2004 through 2008, Russia has led the world in the number of orbital launches. In 2008, Russia matched its 2007 launch rate, conducting ## orbital launches. Consistent with years past, nearly two-thirds of Russia’s 2008 launches used one of two vehicles, the Proton and Soyuz. Other Russian vehicles active in 2008 included the Dnepr, Kosmos 3M, Molniya, Rockot, and the Soyuz 2.
2008 – Orbital Launch Reports and Forecasts
From the launch of the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, through the end of 2008, approximately ## orbital launches have occurred. These missions carried some ten thousand satellites, experiments, probes, landers, and other spacecraft on trajectories ranging from Earth orbit to missions beyond our solar system.
2008 – Space Employment – Snapshot
The economic impacts and human capital effects of global space activity are mutually reinforcing. Worldwide space activity is a driver of industry and commerce, both in economic sectors with a primary space linkage and in secondary and tertiary supporting industries. As space-related economic activity stimulates economic growth, it employs individuals, shapes educational needs, and informs public policy priorities.
2008 – Space Stations – Snapshot
Funding for the largest in-space platform, the International Space Station, is included in the government budgets of ISS partners. NASA, the largest contributor, allocated $## billion for the space station in fiscal year (FY) 2008 and requested $## billion for FY 2009. During 2008, two major modules were added to the ISS: the Japanese Kibo, which cost approximately $# billion to develop; and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Columbus, which cost €880 million (US$## billion).
2008 – Launch Industry – Snapshot
The pace of operations in the launch industry was essentially unchanged in 2008 with ## total orbital launches carrying ## payloads. This compares with ## orbital launches in 2007 carrying ## payloads and continues a steady four-year increase in global space launch count. Each Space Shuttle mission is counted as a single payload. Of the ## launches in 2008, ## carried commercial payloads, ## carried non-commercial payloads.
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$## billion). The imagery collected by the radar satellites is expected to serve both military and civil government purposes.
2008 – German Government Space Budget – Snapshot
Germany is investing in surface system robotics and enhancements in synthetic aperture radar technology, including the TerraSAR-L satellite, a follow-on to its successful TerraSAR-X Earth observation mission. The German Aerospace Center, DLR, engaged in a public-private partnership with Astrium GmbH to produce TerraSAR-X at a total cost of €## million (US$## million), including manufacturing and launch. The launch of the radar-imagery satellite SAR-Lupe 5 in July 2008 marked the completion of Germany’s first satellite-supported reconnaissance system, estimated to have a total project cost of €## million (US$## million).