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Space industry refers to economic activities related to
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
components that go into Earth's orbit or beyond, delivering them to those regions, and related services. Owing to the prominence of the satellite-related activities, some sources use the term satellite industry interchangeably with the term space industry. The term space business has also been used. A narrow definition encompasses only hardware providers (primarily related to launch vehicles and
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
s). This definition does not exclude certain activities, such as
space tourism Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. During the period from 2001 to 2009, seven space tourists made eight s ...
. Thus more broadly, space industry can be described as the companies involved in the space economy, and providing goods and services related to space. Space economy has been defined as "all public and private actors involved in developing and providing space-enabled products and services. It comprises a long value-added chaining, starting with
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
actors and manufacturers of space hardware and ending with the providers of space-enabled products and services to final users."


Segments and revenues

The three major sectors of the space industry are:
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
manufacturing, support ground equipment manufacturing, and the launch industry. The satellite manufacturing sector is composed of satellite and their subsystems manufacturers. The ground equipment sector is composed of manufacturing items like mobile terminals, gateways, control stations, VSATs,
direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
dishes, and other specialized equipment. The launch sector is composed of launch services, vehicle manufacturing and subsystem manufacturing. Every euro spent in the space industry returns around six euros to the economy, according to the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
. This makes it a critical sector for
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...
, competitiveness, and high-tech jobs. With regards to the worldwide satellite industry revenues, in the period 2002 to 2005 those remained at the 35–36 billion USD level. In that, majority of revenue was generated by the ground equipment sector, with the least amount by the launch sector. Space-related services are estimated at about US$100 billion. The industry and related sectors employ about 120,000 people in the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
countries, while the
space industry of Russia Russia's space industry comprises more than 100 companies and employs 250,000 people. Most of the companies are descendants of Soviet design bureaux and state production companies. The industry entered a deep crisis following the dissolution of t ...
employs around 250,000 people. Capital stocks estimated the worth of 937 satellites in Earth's orbit in 2005 at around 170 to US$230 billion. In 2005, OECD countries budgeted around US$45 billion for space-related activities; income from space-derived products and services has been estimated at US$110–120 billion in 2006 (worldwide).


History and trends

The space industry began to develop after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, as rockets and then satellites entered into military arsenals, and later found civilian applications. It retains significant ties to the government. In particular, the launch industry features a significant government involvement, with some launch platforms (like the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...
) being operated by governments. In recent years, however,
private spaceflight Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Un ...
is becoming realistic, and even major government agencies, such as
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
, have begun relying on privately operated launch services. Some future developments of the space industry that are increasingly being considered include new services such as
space tourism Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. During the period from 2001 to 2009, seven space tourists made eight s ...
. From 2004–2013, total orbital launches by country/region were: Russia: 270, US: 181, China: 108, Europe: 59, Japan: 24, India: 19 and Brazil: 1. Relevant trends in the 2008–2009 for the space industry have been described as: *the appearance of new satellite operators; *a growing demand for
Fixed Service Satellite Fixed-satellite service (short: FSS | also: fixed-satellite radiocommunication service) is – according to ''article 1.21'' of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – defined as ''A radiocommunication s ...
s and developing market for Mobile Satellite Services; *a steady amount of commercial satellite orders; *steady performance of the launch sector; *resilience to the financial crisis; *maturing markets for services like Ka-band and
remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Ear ...
.
The 2019 Space Report
estimates that in 2018 total global space activity was $414.75 Billion. Of that, the report estimates that 21%, or $87.09 Billion, was from U.S. Government Space Budgets. A report discussing global space spending in 2021 estimated global spending at approximately $92 billion.


See also

*
Commercialization of space Commercial use of space is the provision of goods or services of Commerce, commercial value by using equipment sent into Earth orbit or outer space. This phenomenon – aka Space Economy (or New Space Economy) – is accelerating cross-sector i ...
** Space-based economy *** Space trade *** Space manufacturing ***
Lunar resources The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future. Potential lunar resources may encompass processable materials such as volatiles and minerals, along with geologic structures such as lava tubes that together, ...
***
Asteroid mining Asteroid mining is the hypothetical exploitation of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids ...
* Space industry per country **
Space industry of Russia Russia's space industry comprises more than 100 companies and employs 250,000 people. Most of the companies are descendants of Soviet design bureaux and state production companies. The industry entered a deep crisis following the dissolution of t ...
**
Space industry of India India's Space Industry is predominantly driven by the national Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The industry includes over 500 private suppliers and other various bodies of the Department of Space in all commercial, research and arbitra ...
**
Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom The aerospace industry of the United Kingdom is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world (after the United States) and the largest in Europe by turnover, with a global market share of 17% in 2019. In 2020, the industry employed ...
** Commercial Spaceflight Federation (US) *
Space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue effort ...
**
Outer Space Treaty russian: link=yes, Договор о космосе es, link=yes, Tratado sobre el espacio ultraterrestre , long_name = Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moo ...


References


External links


CubeSat Database & NanosatellitesNewSpace Index
{{Politics of outer space Industries (economics)