The Space Economy at a Glance 2011

The Space Economy at a Glance 2011 You or your institution have access to this content

Anglais
Auteur(s):
OCDE
Date de publication :
22 jui 2011
ISBN :
9789264084643 (imprimé)
DOI :
10.1787/9789264111790-en

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Space applications have become an important part of everyday life. Weather forecasting, air traffic control, global communications and broadcasting, disaster management -- these and many other key activities would be almost unthinkable today without satellite technology. The space industry itself is relatively small compared to other manufacturing sectors, but its technological dynamism and strategic significance mean that it plays an ever more critical role in modern society. 

This book assembles information on the space economy from a wide range of official and non-official sources. Together these paint a richly detailed picture of the space industry, its downstream services activities, and its wider economic and social impacts. Who are the main space-faring nations? How large are revenues and how much employment is there in the sector? How much R&D goes on, and where? What is the value of spin-offs from space spending? Answers to these and other questions are provided in this second OECD statistical overview of the emerging space economy.

A dynamic link (StatLink) is provided for graphs, which directs the user to a web page where the corresponding data are available in Excel® format.

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Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts Table des matières

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  • Foreword
    The Space Economy at a Glance (2011) provides a statistical overview of the global space sector and its contributions to economic activity. This publication is an updated, more comprehensive version of The Space Economy at a Glance (2007), the first-ever OECD statistical overview of the emerging space economy. The new edition provides not only recent indicators and statistics based on both official and private data, but also a strategic outlook that identifies key issues for the future. The figures cover many countries, and, for first the time, include various official statistics concerning the Indian and Chinese space programmes.
  • Acronyms
  • Executive Summary
    Space technologies have become an important part of everyday life. Weather forecasting, air traffic control, global communications and broadcasting – these and many other essential activities would be almost unthinkable today without satellite technology.
  • Introduction
    The Space Economy at a Glance provides a quantitative, internationally comparable view of not only the space sector itself, but also its broader role in the economy and society. This 2011 edition brings together published and unpublished data and statistics from official and unofficial sources, as well as from OECD databases that cover a wide range of space applications, public space budgets, space sector revenues, trade in space products and space patents to name but a few, in order to illustrate the economic and societal impacts of space-based activities.
  • The Space Sector in 2011 and Beyond
    The geopolitical landscape of the world has considerably changed in two decades and this can also be seen in the strategic space sector. This first chapter features some key issues that could shape the future of the sector including: the emergence of a new world map of space powers, the growing role of commercial actors, the evolution of a skilled workforce in the space sector, and the development of new technologies and innovative applications on the horizon.
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  • Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts Readiness Factors: Inputs to the Space Economy

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    • Governmental budgets for space activities
      National and other institutional budgets often contribute to the start-up and development of capital-intensive and high technology sectors such as space. This section provides details on two aspects of government budgets dedicated to space activities: 1) Civilian space programmes as presented annually in Government Budget Appropriations or Outlays for Research and Development (GBAORD); and 2) Public institutional space budgets, covering both civilian and military budgets.
    • Capital stocks: Space assets in orbit and on the ground
      Capital stocks represent the accumulation of equipment and structures available to produce goods or render services. In the case of space activities many of the installations are predominantly of a public nature (e.g. laboratories, launch pads) although the private sector has an increasingly important role in providing services. Because the sources are so diverse, capital stocks are difficult to estimate.
    • Human capital
      The space sector comprises a myriad of specialised jobs, ranging from engineer to marketing specialists, although the majority of people working in the space sector have a science, mathematics, engineering or information technology background. Although estimates vary, existing data already provide some pointers as to the size of the workforce in the space sector, but not in the much wider space economy which includes more providers of space-related products and services. Overall, the space sector is traditionally not a very large employer. Less than 170 000 people work in space manufacturing in the United States, some 31 000 people in Europe and 50 000 in China. This is also a very concentrated industry, as for example, four large industrial holdings are directly responsible for more than 70% of total European space industry employment.
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  • Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts Intensity: Activities and Outputs in the Space Economy

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    • The manufacturing space industry
      Space manufacturing remains a relatively small sector. According to industry reports, worldwide space manufacturing revenues increased from USD 10.5 billion in 2008 to at least USD 13.5 billion in 2009 (Satellite Industry Association, 2010) (Figure 4.1). This trend continued in 2010, as the main commercial satellite communications operators have been in the process of upgrading their fleet. Almost thirty contracts were signed in 2010 to order geostationary communications satellites. However based on other national and regional industry surveys, revenues generated by the construction of satellites and launchers, and their associated services, are probably larger worldwide. The space industries in India and China for instance provide a large amount of products and services to their growing national space programmes (see Chapter V).
    • The satellite telecommunications sector
      Satellite communications and broadcasting represent the most important space-related commercial market. Revenues of satellite operators are mainly generated by sales of capacity (i.e. leasing of satellite’s transponders: data links and bandwidth) and added value services. The bulk of the satellite communications business comes from television. By early 2010, there were 1.4 billion households with a television around the world, providing roughly five billion people access to TV programmes at home (ITU, 2010). In the OECD, 95% on average of all households have at least one television (OECD, 2009). The number of households around the world with direct-to-home (DTH) satellite dishes rose from 82 million in 2000 to 177 million in 2008 (ITU, 2010). As shown in Figure 5.1 the number of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) subscribers outnumbers the numbers of terrestrial and cable broadcast viewers in 11 countries (particularly Austria, New Zealand, Germany and Ireland)...
    • The satellite earth observation sector
      Earth observation represents one of the earliest uses of space technologies. It allows the measurements from orbit of a very wide range of geophysical parameters, spanning the whole spectrum of the environment, including the atmosphere, land, oceans, ice and snow. The number of remote sensing satellites had been increasing as countries around the world seek to develop autonomous capabilities. Actors-wise, the United States, Europe, China and India are all important operators of satellite remote sensing fleets (Table 6.2). Out of the 109 operational earth observation missions managed by civilian space agencies, fifty are dedicated to gathering multi-purpose land imagery (CEOS, 2010)...
    • Insurance market for space activities
      Although launching satellites appears to be a routine operation to the general public, there are still major risks involved. A branch of the insurance sector specifically covers the commercial space sector’s operations. The main risks covered still tend to be a failure at launch or mechanical troubles for telecommunications satellites (with different types of satellite insurance coverage) (Table 7.1). If losses occur, they tend to happen 83% of the time in the very first phases of the space systems’ lifetime, either because of a malfunction of the rocket during launch or because of a satellite’s breakdown during the first month of operations (Figure 7.2). The space insurance industry generates around USD 750 to USD 800 million a year. After several rocket failures in 1998 and 2001, in recent years space insurers have seen their profits rise and have lowered premium rates. Premium rates paid by satellite operators depend mainly on the reliability over time of the launch vehicles and satellite platforms they use. There are still relatively few satellites insured compared to the mass sent to orbit every year, some 40 per year out of the hundred launched every year (Figure 7.3)...
    • International trade in selected space products
      Not many space products and services are fully commercial, as most are strategic in nature and not freely traded. This section provides a partial overview of existing trade data by examining the exports of one commodity code with significant space components from the International Trade in Commodity Statistics (ITCS) database. Based on available trade data, Table 8.1 and Figure 8.3 show France, the United States, Belgium, Italy and Germany leading the exports of spacecraft (including satellites) and spacecraft launch vehicles. Concerning importers, a diversity of OECD and non-OCDE countries appear, reflecting the emergence of new actors in space activities. France and Luxembourg, homes of large commercial satellites telecommunications operators (Eutelsat and SES Global respectively) show a level of imports corresponding to satellite orders (i.e. commercial communication satellite’s costs represent usually USD 150 to 300 million). Malaysia also shows an import of some USD 189 million in 2009, which could correspond to the launch that year of its first earth observation satellite and associated services.
    • Innovation for future economic growth
      The space sector has often been considered one of the main frontrunners of technological development. This was evident at the beginning of the space age (1950s) which yielded pioneering space systems. Analysis of patents provides some insight into innovative activities concerning the electrical and mechanical machinery and equipment required for space-based systems (satellites, launchers) as well as the downstream applications, such as telecommunications navigation systems. The number of space-related patents has almost quadrupled in fifteen years when looking at the applications filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) (Figure 9.1). The downturn after 2002 is due to a large degree to time-lag effects described in the "Methodological notes". The narrow classification B64G: "Cosmonautics; vehicles or equipment thereof" shows a slower increase in the number of patents, meaning that other categories dealing with downstream products and services have gained in importance (Figure 3.6b and 9.2). The countries’ share in space-related patents over the 2000-08 period shows the United States and Europe leading, followed by Korea and Japan (Figure 9.3). Finally, in terms of revealed technological advantage, eight countries demonstrate a level of specialisation in space technologies patenting. The Russian Federation, France, Israel and the United States show a large amount of patenting in space activities, compared to other economic sectors (Figure 9.4).
    • Space launch activities worldwide
      Ten countries have so far demonstrated independent orbital launch capabilities, and seven countries (i.e. the United States, the Russian Federation, China, Japan, India, Israel and Iran) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have operational launchers. More than 1 100 space launches took place between 1994 and 2010, with the Russian Federation and the United States leading. From a high of 89 in 1994, the rate declined in 2001 to an average of around 60 launches per year. Seventy successful space launches occurred worldwide in 2010 with 119 payloads onboard, although there were four rocket failures (India, Korea and the Russian Federation). The Russian Federation has launched more rockets than any other country every year since 2006 (Figure 10.1) and is planning to launch 50 more satellites in 2011 alone. Countries in Asia led by China (15 launches in 2010, like the United States) are gradually outdistancing Europe in terms of the number of launches and payloads (Figure 10.2)...
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  • Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts Impacts: Bringing Space Down to Earth

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    • Space exploration activities
      Countries with space programmes are increasingly investing in down-to-earth space applications (e.g. telecommunications, earth observation) for strategic and economic reasons. Nevertheless, space exploration remains a key driver for investments in innovation and sciences, and it constitutes an intensive activity for major space agencies and industry. Significant achievements have attracted great public interest (e.g. landing on the Moon; Mars exploration by robots; probe landing on Titan).
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  • Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts National Spotlights on Selected Countries

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    • Defining socio-economic impacts from space programmes
      The investments in space programmes are often justified by the scientific, technological, industrial and security capabilities they bring (Figure 12.1). The wish to develop a specialisation may allow a country to participate later on in large space programmes because of its expertise (e.g. Canada’s expertise in robotics and radar imagery; Norway’s expertise in developing satellite telecommunications in difficult environments, such as platforms at sea). Space investments can also provide socio-economic returns such as increased industrial activity, and bring cost efficiencies and productivity gains in other fields (e.g. weather forecasting, tele-medicine, environmental monitoring and agriculture previsions)...
    • Indirect industrial effects
      In a majority of countries, space programmes are contracted out to industry. The ability of firms to secure new customers or create new activities has been studied over the years, and although impacts may vary depending on the country and the level of its specialisation (e.g. applications versus manufacturing), there are several examples of positive industrial and economic returns from space investments, not only in countries with large space manufacturing industry but also in countries with smaller specialised space programmes.
    • Economic growth (regional, national)
      The macroeconomic impacts of space programmes at regional or even national levels have been measured in countries with significant space industry (manufacturing and/or services), such as the United States, France and most recently in the United Kingdom. Economic impacts analysis is not unique to the space sector, and similar studies on economic spillovers are regularly conducted for the automobile industry, the oil industry or the defence sector (e.g. economic effects of large military bases).
    • Efficiency/productivity gains
      The amount of efficiency and productivity gains derived from the use of space applications across very diverse sectors of the economy keeps growing over the years. From agriculture to energy, institutional actors and private companies are using satellite signals and imagery with positive returns as demonstrated in examples and box "How satellites are changing agricultural practices and contributing to food security". Satellites can also play a key role in providing communications infrastructure rapidly to areas lacking any ground infrastructure, contributing to link rural and isolated areas with urbanised centres (Table 15.1).
    • United States
      The United States has the largest space programme in the world, involving several civilian and defence-related organisations. In addition to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), other public organisations have dedicated -although often not well identified – space budgets: the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation (Office of Commercial Space Transportation), the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Geological Survey. The overall budget is estimated conservatively at approximately USD 48.8 billion in 2010. NASA has a budget totaling USD 18.72 billion in 2010, up from USD 17.78 billion in 2009 (Figure 16.2)...
    • France
      Placed under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Department of Defense, the French space agency (Centrex national d’études spatiales – CNES) had a budget of EUR 1.97 billion in 2010 (of which EUR 685 million earmarked for the European Space Agency). France is the first financial contributor to the European Space Agency, followed by Germany and Italy. The 2010-15 accord signed in late 2010 by the French government and the French space agency provides for an additional EUR 15 million grant to CNES national programme (called "multilateral", because it often involves international partners). In 2011, CNES also manages EUR 500 million in French public bonds in order to stimulate research and future economic growth, via investments in the next generation of European launcher and innovative satellites...
    • Italy
      The Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), is headquartered in Rome with three centers in Matera, Trapani Malindi (Kenya), and the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC) in Frascati, near Rome. Italy is the third-largest contributor to the European Space Agency (after France and Germany), and is actively involved in all domains of space applications and space exploration. The Italian Space Agency budget is around EUR 700 million a year. The ten-year strategic plan (2010-20) earmarks EUR 7.2 billion in funding over the period, and should provide approximately the same level of spending annually. The main funding ministries include mainly the Ministry for Instruction, Universities and Research, which allocates EUR 600million per year and the Ministry of Defence for dual missions such as COSMO-SkyMed and Athena-Fidus. In terms of expenditures, as shown in Figure 18.1, Italy’s contribution to ESA represents the first budget line over the next decade, although the strategic plan aims to slightly rebalance expenditures in favour of the national programme and bilateral co-operation, reducing the Italian annual payment to ESA from EUR 400 million to around EUR 385 million (ASI, 2010).
    • Canada
      Canada has developed over the years a dynamic space programme, positioning its space industry with comparative advantages in several niche areas, including robotics, satellite communications and satellite radar imagery. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) had a budget of some CAD 344 million in 2009-10 fiscal year, which could decrease over the next four years (Figure 19.1). However, the CSA received in 2010 an additional CAD 397 million over five years to develop, with the industry, the next generation of Canadian advanced radar remote sensing satellites, with the bulk of this spending occurring after 2011 (Treasury Board of Canada, 2010)...
    • United Kingdom
      The space budget for the United Kingdom amounted to GBP 312.52 million in 2010 (around USD 487.3 million). Around 13% is devoted to national programmes (GBP 41.34 million) (Figure 20.1). In April 2010, the UK Space Agency replaced the British National Space Centre (BNSC) to rationalise the British space efforts (UK Space Agency, 2010). BNSC has carried out periodic surveys of the size and health of the UK space industry since 1991. The most recent study, in 2010, found that the industry employed around 19 000 people, generating a turnover of GBP 5.8 billion (around USD 9 billion). This represented a rise of 8% on the previous survey from two years ago (Figure 20.2)...
    • Norway
      Norway has been steadily developing its own space programme since setting up the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) in 1987. Based on its geography and its specific national requirements, Norway is successfully pursuing several niche markets in the space sector (e.g. satellite telecommunication applications for its merchant fleet, oil and natural gas installations and the Svalbard archipelago; radar satellite services for monitoring Norwegian waters and automatic ship identification (AIS) to identify vessels at sea). The Norwegian space budget for 2009 is estimated at NOK 791 million (USD 125 million), with 46% going to the European Space Agency (NSC, 2010a)...
    • India
      India has one of the world’s most ambitious space programmes, aiming to develop independent strategic capabilities, high technologies and a skilled Indian workforce. In 2010, the budget estimate of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) reached a high of 57.78 billion Indian rupees (INR) (USD 1.24 billion), a 38% increase over 2009 (Figure 22.1). This rapid progression is in line with the fiveyear plan for the Indian space programme, which is expected to total INR 220 billion (USD 4.7 billion) over the 2007-12 period (Figure 22.2)...
    • China
      China launched its first satellite in 1970 and has become a full blown space power, involved in every type of space activities (i.e. satellites and launchers manufacturing, spaceports, dedicated science and applications programmes, human spaceflight, military space). In 2010, China launched fifteen rockets carrying satellites to orbit, the same number as the United States. Although very difficult to estimate, the space budget for 2010 could represent some USD 6.5 billion, based on ongoing large-scale R&D programmes and extensive infrastructure development (e.g. a fourth Chinese launch site is under construction, the Chang’e 2 satellite is to orbit the Moon in late 2011, and a space station is under development, with a first module to be placed in orbit over the next two years). There were some 40 Chinese companies involved in spacecraft manufacturing in 2009, including joint ventures, commercial and state-owned enterprises...
    • Brazil
      Brazil’s space programme covers the entire range of space technologies and applications. The Brazilian space agency (Agência Espacial Brasileira, AEB) is the largest space organisation in Latin America, with a budget of BRL 352 million in 2010 (around USD 210 million). In co-ordination with AEB, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) designs half of Brazilian satellite subsystems and contracts them to the industry. It is estimated that some 3 400 people work directly for the Brazilian space programme, either in governmental agencies or industry (AEB, 2010). Brazil owns ten satellites, the majority procured for telecommunications. In addition to meteorology, some of its satellites are dedicated to land remote sensing, and have been designed and built in co-operation with China. The China – Brazil Earth Resources Satellites (CBERS) programme so far includes a family of five remote-sensing satellites (2 operational in 2010) built jointly by Brazil and China. CBERS-3 should be launched in 2011 and CBERS-4 in 2014. The Brazilian participation in the programme amounts to a total cost of USD 500 million, with 60% of investment taking the form of industrial contracts...
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  • Ouvrir / Fermer Cacher / Voir les abstracts The Global Aerospace Sector in Perspective

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    • Production and value-added
      A few countries dominate the global aerospace production in 2010, with major industry players being involved in both aeronautics and space systems (Table 25.2). The United States and European countries remain the prominent aerospace markets, with sales in the United States representing some USD 214 billion for 2009, followed by Europe, Canada and Japan. However, China, India, Mexico and Brazil are emerging as important customers of aerospace products. The aerospace sector is one of the fastest globalising industries in terms of both market structure and production system. In addition to satellite systems, new aeronautic markets are developing based on the growth in air traffic worldwide (expected to continue rising 4.9% on an annual basis over the next 10 years), and increases in military aerospace expenditures. Despite its strategic nature, aerospace represents a small percentage of the total manufacturing value added in G7 countries (Figure 25.4). The percentage for all G7 countries remains below 4% of the total in 2008 (Figure 25.3).
    • Research and development
      The official OECD statistics relating to aerospace industry research and development (R&D) presented here focus on business enterprise research and development (BERD) data. BERD is considered to be closely linked to the development of new products and production techniques. BERD data for aerospace are heavily dominated by a few large countries. Four of the OECD’s largest industrial spenders – the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany – account for more than 80% of the total (Table 26.1). The evolution of BERD performed in the aerospace industry for selected OECD countries shows the industry in the United States investing twice as much as the total European industry. Taken nationally, the French, German and British aerospace industries invested each four times less than their American counterparts in 2006 (Figure 26.2).
    • Trade
      OECD countries account for 90% of the total exports of aerospace products. As shown in Figure 27.3, sixteen countries show a positive aerospace trade balance in 2008, with the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the Russian Federation having the most revenues. China, Singapore and Japan are mainly importers of aerospace products and services, showing a negative trade balance. The 2009 data confirms that despite the economic crisis, the major aerospace countries have still exported large amounts of products (Table 27.1). Specialisation-wise, aerospace exports represent more than 30% of France, the Russian Federation and the United States’ exports of high technologies (Figure 27.2). India, Japan and China do not rely as much on their aerospace exports, as they are more specialised in the exports of radio and television equipment (Japan and China) and pharmaceuticals (India).
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