Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Euroconsult released today Trends & Prospects for Emerging Space Programs, a report that benchmarks projects, development models, lessons learned and perspectives of countries starting their first or second generation satellite programs.
Of the 29 countries assessed in the report, 27 have begun investing in a space program for a total value estimated at $1.8 billion in 2013, including $1.4 billion related to satellite procurement. This is 2.4 times the 2007 assessment.
“Our estimates show that they should keep their investment levels over the long term,” the consulting firm said in a press statement.
“Governments always look to maximize the economic and social benefits of their nation’s space programs and naturally choose the development of domestic satellite communications and or Earth observation (EO) capabilities as a starting point,” said Jean Baptiste Thépaut, Consultant at Euroconsult and lead contributor to the report.
Emerging programs listed in the report have launched a total of 30 communications and EO satellites over the past decade and 38 satellites are currently being manufactured for a launch date slated within the next four years, Thépaut said.
National stakeholders
Seventeen countries analyzed in the report have reported funding for a satcom program for a combined value of $950 million; 18 countries are undertaking an EO program with associated budgets of over $500 million by 2015.
Euroconsult observes that space development and research involve various national stakeholders either as users of satellite applications or partners for technology development.
The creation of a centralized agency to manage the space program is not systematic, but helps to clarify responsibilities and provides leadership, notes Euroconsult. This is the case for 50% of the countries analyzed in the report.
Euroconsult is headquartered in Paris, with offices in Montreal and Washington, D.C.
By Leonard David