Italy Archives

2008 – Cosmic Discovery: A Look Ahead

Two competing influences shape the near-term prospects of space astronomy: the burgeoning worldwide development of astronomical technology and human talent, and the decrease in governmental support for basic science brought on by economic and fiscal pressures. Probably the most significant event … This article is for subscribers. Please sign up for a subscription or login…

2008 – Civil Space Activity

The trend of globalization in space activity continues, with nations entering into agreements to use each other’s infrastructure and space assets. Two decades ago only the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, and China regularly launched and deployed satellites and other missions to space. Today… This article is for subscribers. Please sign up for a…

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 – 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 – European Space Agency Budget – Snapshot

The European Space Agency (ESA), with 18 member states, had a 2008 budget of about €## billion (US$## billion). ESA is projecting a budget of €## billion (US$## billion) for the three years from 2009–2011. One feature of the budget will be a ##% per year growth in the agency’s basic science budget. The combined civil space spending for 2008, including both national space programs and ESA contributions of the four largest members, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, amounted to about €## billion (US$## billion), approximately ##% of their averaged national budgets.

2007 – European Military Space Budget

Military space spending among European countries in 2006 totaled $## billion (€## million), according to the European Space Policy Institute, a research institute founded and supported by European aerospace industry partners. For 2004, Euroconsult estimates non-U.S. space spending at $## billion. Countries included in this estimate are the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Israel. Data on international military space spending is generally held closely and difficult to find in public sources. Until better data becomes available, we will continue to use this 2004 figure as an estimate in our aggregated number.

2007 – Government Space Budgets Overview

Government space budgets support infrastructure and space products and services. Government spending accounted for ##% of global space activity in 2007, and the United States accounted for ##% of global government space spending, based on available information. Overall, U.S. government space spending rose ##%. International government budgets rose almost ##% in U.S. dollars, though the actual growth is closer to #% when adjusted for currency fluctuations. Large increases in Russian space spending (##%) and in the budget for Italy’s Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (##%) drove this growth

2006 – Space Industry Demographics – Snapshot

Although new hiring statistics are not uniformly available for other major civil space programs or international companies, steady growth in the global space industry over the past five years suggests that demand for skilled S&E workers with space-relevant skills exists around the world.

2005 – ISS

The largest in-space platform ever constructed is the International Space Station (ISS). “Led by the United States, the ISS draws upon the scientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency [Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom], and Brazil,” according to NASA.

2005 – Government Space Budgets Overview

Non-U.S. military estimates, which are for 2004, include the following countries: United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Israel. China’s budget includes both military and civil expenditures. Note that the estimate of China’s space budget is controversial. At a NASA budget hearing in April 2006, much of the discussion was about the possible size of China’s space program and its ability to complete its plans to land astronauts on the Moon in 2017.