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Better disaster response – at home and abroad

From the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean to the forest fires that ravaged southern Europe in the summer of 2007 – recent natural and man-made disasters have highlighted the need for a more effective EU response. Better cooperation between EU countries is crucial.

“When responding to disasters, Europe is strongest when it combines its capacities and benefits from its diversity and different expertise,” said Commission president José Manuel Barroso.

The Commission’s latest policy paper on disaster response outlines some practical ways of beefing up capacity over the year ahead. These include:

* turning the monitoring and information centre (MIC) into a fully fledged operations centre with access to standby resources
* better coordination with the UN and the Red Cross to tackle problems with humanitarian aid delivery
* a new Europe-wide disaster response training network to build on the experience gained in the civil protection training programmes
* early warning systems in the EU and further afield, making use of the single European emergency number 112

Mr Barroso described the new policy paper as “a concrete step that illustrates how Europe can rise to the expectations of its citizens.” The EU can’t yet build on the opportunities the Lisbon Treaty will provide, but it can strengthen existing response measures through new partnerships and better coordination of resources.

(Apr 12). Minister defends blocking sale

After blocking a foreign takeover of the country’s largest satellite and space robotics firm, Industry Minister Jim Prentice is refusing to commit federal funds to offset the effect of nixing the sale.

Prentice defended the decision to halt the $1.3 billion sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), saying Canada has no choice but to hang on to its technological know-how if it wishes to have a vibrant aerospace sector and pursue vital policies like the protection of Arctic sovereignty.

“My bottom line is this: Canada must retain jurisdiction and control of technologies that are vital to the future of our industry and the pursuit of our public policy objectives,” he said. “We will not accept the loss of jurisdictional control to another party or another country.”

On Thursday, Prentice served notice that Ottawa was denying preliminary approval for the sale of Vancouver-based MDA, which produces the Canadarm, Dextre robot and Radarsat-2 mapping satellite, to U.S. defence contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. of Edina, Minn.

Prentice was at the Canadian Space Agency, south of Montreal, yesterday to give a speech marking the 50th anniversary of Canada’s space program.

But during his address to a group of agency employees, he also shed more light on his decision to block the MDA purchase.

Prentice said the ownership of technology and the development of the space industry are “inextricably linked, you cannot have one without the other.”

He also spoke in greater detail about the proposed deal’s impact on Canada’s plans for northern development and climate change policies, among others.

“We use earth observation to keep track of our vast land mass … We can help in search and rescue operations and protect our sovereignty by monitoring those who enter our waters. … We will vigorously protect our Arctic sovereignty,” he said.

The federal government has invested heavily in MDA projects like Radarsat-2, which was decades in the making and has cost between $445 million and $800 million, depending on who does the accounting. Indeed, the company has received roughly 50 per cent of the space agency’s funding budget through its various contracts.

Critics of the sale have also raised concerns about who would control the imaging data gathered from the satellite, which could find itself subject to strict U.S. security regulations and be kept out of Canadian hands. Alliant has 30 days to contest Prentice’s ruling, made under a little-used provision of the Investment Canada Act.

Both ATK and MDA maintained Thursday that the review process is ongoing and that no final decisions have been made.

But from Prentice’s words yesterday it’s difficult to see how he could be swayed. Ottawa’s decision also scotches MDA’s restructuring plans. During a news conference, Prentice ducked questions on whether the federal government would be willing to step in with a financial assistance package as the opposition parties demand.

“I’m not here to announce specific investment decisions today,” he said, adding the federal government will continue to seek technology partnerships through the space agency.

Prentice also shrugged off the suggestion that his decision could create a chill for other foreign firms contemplating buying Canadian assets.

By Sean Gordon. Quebec Bureau Chief

Source Thestar

(April 14). Notes from Ambassador, President d’Escatha, Director Andersen at the French Norwegian Space Forum, Oslo.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to address you on the occasion of the opening of the French Norwegian Space Forum here in Oslo.

Some of us just arrived back from Svalbard, a strategic centre for Norwegian space related activities. Svalbard is increasingly also an international arena for exploration and innovation. I am convinced that this interest from the international space community will continue.

France and Norway have good and long traditions for cooperation on space related activities. Not least within the framework of the European Space Agency, but certainly also on a bilateral basis. This meeting and the framework agreement should provide an excellent base towards an even closer cooperation.

Looking at the national priorities in France and Norway, it is evident that the complementarity of our space ambitions creates room for further cooperation.

France has a wide range of different satellites, several of which are used by Norway when conducting studies of the weather and marine sciences. On the other hand Norway offers high-quality ground-based services for the global space community at Svalbard, Antarctica and Andoya. Currently France and Norway participate successfully together in EASP on using scientific rockets and balloons. Norway wishes to renew this agreement beyond the current duration, and we hope to involve France even more in the satellite operations and downlink services on Svalbard. We are also very satisfied with the collaboration on satellite navigation and see the importance in expanding this work. Furthermore I am pleased to note the good bilateral cooperation between CNES and NSC, as well as between companies, institutes and individual scientists in both countries.

The Norwegian company Telenor has several commercial broadcasting satellites. On a national level the work is now underway to develop a first satellite that will provide a complete picture of the Norwegian territorial waters when it comes to ship recognition. I believe that this is a technology that could also be of interest to the international community.

There are many more opportunities for cooperation on the industrial side, both within the ESA programmes and commercially. We believe it is important to improve the link between the collaborations in these different fields.

It is often said that Norway is the country in Europe with the largest potential benefit from the use of space for the good of its society and citizens.

I believe this to be a fact. This is also reflected in our strategy for the High North, which is one of the central political priorities for this Government. The Norwegian Government places such high importance on the developments in the High North for a large number of reasons. It stems, of course, partly from our nature-given geographical position.

Space activities are also increasingly playing an important role within this framework.

But issues relating to the High North are also receiving increased international attention. One of the reasons for this is the realisation that climate change in the High North may have large consequences also on the global environmental balance and resource management.

I would therefore especially like to emphasise the very important role that space related infrastructure plays for a sustainable environmental policy. Earth observation satellites provide us with data to help us understand how ecological processes and man-made influences affect the environment.

Satellite photos showing the large changes in the ice over Greenland and the Arctic Ocean is an important and convincing tool in the fight against climate change.

So space activities are not “all about business”. An important aspect, shared by France and Norway, is the focus on developing space applications to the benefit of society. When we make our priorities, we therefore have to keep in mind that space activities are more than business policy. Space activities are increasingly relevant. Both with regard to the environment as I’ve already mentioned. But also with regard to research and technology development. Furthermore it also contributes to improved resource management. This is a development that is strongly appreciated by my Government.

Norway’s national needs and our strengths and advantages have dominated our priorities in space. Our main priorities in space have been telecommunications, earth observation and navigation. Within all these areas Norway has developed leading industrial, application and scientific capabilities.

We can only reach these national needs and fulfil our political priorities through well functioning international collaboration. For Norway ESA is the main tool for our space endeavour. Norwegian membership in ESA has great benefits for our industry, and the Norwegian industry has done a very good job within the ESA context.

Today Norway is an active player in European space activities, and we welcome the increased alignment of the European strategies.

The fact that Norway is not a member of the EU means that further developments of the European Space Policy are of the utmost importance to us. We will work on securing a future role for Norway within this changing framework and we have declared our intention to participate in the EU part of the Galileo project.

As a non-member of the EU, strong support from our European friends is sometimes necessary in order to secure the Norwegian positions. I would like to use this opportunity to convey our strong appreciation for the support France has provided on issues concerning Norway and the EU.

France and Norway have many common goals and interests in space matters. I believe that the framework agreement is a step towards a further strengthening of the already very good cooperation between France and Norway in space related activities. I look forward to following this development.

With this I wish you good luck with what I know will be a very interesting meeting.

Thank you for your attention! Ministry of Trade and Industry

Ministry of Trade and Industry
P.O.Box 8014 Dep 0030 Oslo – Norway
CONTACT: Ministry of Trade and Industry Tel: +47 22 24 90 90

Source Tradingmarkets

Shell Canada has incorporated Earth Observation data into its Sustainable Development Report, demonstrating the potential of satellites to provide a global and cost-effective way to measure objectively the sustainability of business activities.

Companies that aim to create wealth while also contributing to the long-term quality of life and respect for the environment regularly issue environmental audits of their Corporate Sustainable Development (CSD) activities and report on the ‘triple bottom line’ of economic, social and environmental impacts.

In order to quantify sustainability, accurate and timely information on the state of the environment is needed, which Earth Observation (EO) from space can provide.

“Unbiased, timed satellite images help build stakeholder trust because they clearly illustrate the activities taking place in our oil sands mine leases,” Ashley Nixon, Sustainable Development Integration Manager at Shell Canada, said.

“They present clear, accessible visuals, provide objective information on development and eventual reclamation of our oil sands leases and help us in our reporting on environmental performance.”

In 2005, ESA began working with large multinational companies as part of its Earth Observation Support for Corporate Sustainable Development Reporting (EO-CSD) project to integrate satellite data into CSD reporting practices across a wide variety of industrial sectors.

Under the project, Hatfield Consultants, an environmental consultancy firm based in Canada, led a team working with Shell Canada and Albian Sands Energy to provide EO-based geo-information to support environmental management and monitoring related to the exploitation of their Athabasca oil sands located in the north of the province of Alberta. Occupying some 141 000 sq km, the Athabasca oil sands are estimated to be the second largest known oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.

These bitumen-saturated sand deposits represent the equivalent of between 17 and 25 trillion oil barrels, although unlike conventional crude oil they need to be mined or extracted in situ rather than simply pumped to the surface and then specially treated before they can be transported via pipelines.

As global oil reserves dwindle, the cost of extracting Canada’s oil sands has become feasible: one million barrels of oil are currently extracted daily and this figure has the potential to double in the next five to seven years. However this extraction should be carried out while managing the impact on the Alberta landscape.

Eyes in the sky

EO provides objective coverage across both space and time, EO images show the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena can be observed with great accuracy. Satellites also remain in place for long periods, making them able to highlight environmental changes occurring gradually.

The focus of the satellite data used in this project was to help quantify habitat change in various ways and to understand how a habitat may be influenced by the oil sand operations.
ESA’s Envisat satellite acquired eight Full Resolution images with its optical instrument, Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), covering the entire northern oil sand region, from 2004 to 2006. Envisat’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument acquired three alternating polarisation images, one in 2004 and two in 2006. SPOT-5 acquired five multi-spectral images of the same region, an area of approximately 18 000 sq km, in 2006.

Satellite images record the development of oil sand activities at the Muskeg River Mine and Jackpine Mine in the Athabasca region of northeast Alberta.

According to Shell, the images allowed them to monitor vegetation, track land use changes, capture roads, power lines and other installations that can fragment habitat. They also provide them with the capability to establish baseline environmental information before developing new areas.

Based on EO image analysis, mine activity and vegetation habitat change information was provided for the 2006 Shell Canada Sustainable Development Report, which was developed in accordance with the 2006 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI provides a framework for sustainability reporting, which includes a set of reporting guidelines to enable reporting on economic, environmental, and social performance.

The EO-based information provided as part of the project, sponsored by ESA’s Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD) Programme, was independently audited.

“Using 2006 as a baseline, mine development and progressive reclamation will be monitored every year. In addition, Shell will share learnings with industry associations to help establish best practices for sustainable development reporting,” Shell said in a statement on its website.

Knowledge sharing

The EO information is not only valuable for corporate environmental management purposes, but can also provide local residents with unbiased information regarding the impact of developments in their communities.

Therefore, the EO-CSD project team continues to work with local Aboriginal communities to demonstrate how EO can be used as part of Shell Canada and Albian Sands corporate commitments to sustainable development.

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) documented by the Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN), whose traditional territory borders Shell’s leases, was integrated with the satellite imagery with the aim of improving the ability of the community to monitor developments and reclamation on or near their traditional territories.

“In partnership with the FMFN, Shell will reclaim and restore mined areas by integrating satellite images with their traditional environmental knowledge,” Darrell Martindale, Manager of Environment and Regulatory Compliance at Albian Sands, said. “The FMFN can then monitor current and proposed developments and reclamation plans on or near their traditional territories.”

Credits: ESA/Hatfield/ACRI-st
Source: ESA Press service

While the environmental consciousness is increasing in the public and in political circles, the remote sensing techniques and systems are considered more and more as essential tools to help manage our planet. With the start by the European institutions and Industry of the Sentinels satellite programs, in 2007 for Sentinel-1 and in April 2008 for Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3, Europe is setting the cornerstone of its future operational Earth Observation program of Global Monitoring of Environment and Security, in the footsteps of the successful European Meteorological operational program. This system component is being developed hand in hand with the service segment constituted by Core and Downstream services, according to the terms agreed upon at European level. While the place of industry in the development of the Space segment is clear, its role in the development and implementation of GMES services at large is not. It is to attempt an assessment of the European industry achievements and of the way to create new opportunities for industry in GMES Services that the 2008 EARSC Workshop convened in Brussels on March 19, 2008 with the support of the EU and of ESA.

EUROSENSE is a prominent commercial and highly specialised remote sensing organization, existing since 1964. Besides profound experience in aerial photogrammetry, digital orthophotography, cartography, hydrography, GIS and other products and services in a broad range of applications, EUROSENSE has built high credibility in the processing of satellite remote sensing data.

Besides branches in Belgium (Wemmel, near Brussels), The Netherlands (Breda), Germany (Cologne) and France (Lille), EUROSENSE has high entrance in the market of the “new” European countries. With offices in Hungary (Budapest), The Czech Republic (Prague), Slovakia (Bratislava), Poland (Nadarzyn, near Warsaw), Romania (Bucharest) and Bulgaria (Sofia), EUROSENSE is the ideal EO-partner in Central- & Western-Europe.

Data collection & distribution

Next to our own aerial image acquisition, EUROSENSE is of course also distributor of a whole range of satellite data. We have no restrictions in the satellite data source or its resolution and have extensive experience in the processing of a wide range of optical and radar space imagery (SPOT, FORMOSAT, KOMPSAT, TerraSar-X, IKONOS, IRS, Quickbird, RADARSAT, Envisat, etc.) or a combination of them. The main focus, however, has been on the higher resolution image processing.

EUROSENSE is share holder of SPOT-image from the start-up and is of course official distributor for the different SPOT satellites, FORMOSAT and KOMPSAT.

Value adding


Today’s society is evolving rapidly. In times where the boundaries of environmental flexibility are tested on a global (e.g. global warming) and local (e.g. air, noise & soil pollution) scale, urban agglomerations are expanding exponentially, disasters like floods are affecting people more than ever and terrorist- and military threats are a daily news item. Policy makers and all people active in the management of today’s society-problems need tools to measure the current situation or certain trends and tools to plan improvement in the future. Only by accurate, harmonized and high-quality information, today’s society can be guided in a correct, sustainable direction, serving the real local and global needs.

EUROSENSE is specialized in collecting all types of spatial data, like aerial, satellite or bathymetric data. By its value adding services, these collected data and products are converted through a number of specialised procedures into value-adding information services fitting the real user needs. The domains and applications are manifold. Some examples of remote sensing applications are given below:

• Specialized classification procedure based on satellite or digital aerial imagery result in detailed and accurate urban/regional land-use and/or land-use change maps, which are vital for the monitoring and analysing of urban changes on a geo-located basis. In this context EUROSENSE is also actively involved in the development of the European Urban Atlas product (project GMES Urban Services & GSE-Land ; see figure 2 for example).


Figure 2: Urban Atlas Land-Use classification of the city of Lille.

• Based on the combination of image analysis of false color IR imagery, fieldwork and GIS, the health status of individual trees in a city are monitored on a yearly basis. This is fundamental information for the responsible bodies for the management of the urban green in a pro-active manner.

• For already more than a decade, EUROSENSE is participating in all types of agricultural based projects, like e.g. the agricultural control of the European subsidies (CAP). See in this context also the “Success Story” of the agricultural-based ESA project SAGACAP executed by EUROSENSE on the website of the European Space Agency.


Figure 3: Control of good tillage practices (parallel to contour lines).

• The service “Monitoring of elements at risk” makes it possible to frequently provide several end-users with up-to-date maps. The maps contain urban areas, as well as isolated buildings, industrial/ commercial/public buildings and infrastructures and/or all their changes in a fixed period of time, depending on the product (for an example, see figure 1). The overall focus of the service is to locate and to identify all civilian elements contained by areas prone to risk of natural disasters, e.g. recent or predicted flooded areas. Besides for risk mapping, these products are very useful for urban and regional planning purposes. This service is also incorporated in the project RISK-EOS.

• In the context of cross-border cooperation and security, EUROSENSE is providing a wide range of services, from cross-border base mapping and land-use classifications up to user adjusted services (e.g. accessibility maps). EUROSENSE is also here very active in the context of GMES (e.g. in the development of a satellite based portfolio for land-border security).

• Using modeling techniques on several geo data and river information, Flood Risk Maps are calculated and provide information on the extent and inundation depth of the simulated flood event. Based on these products, additional damage assessments can be executed. Another service in this context is the past flood mapping service (see figure 4). Information by Past Flood Mapping is vital for prevention and for planning of construction dams and infrastructures.


Figure 4: Past Flood Map of the Danube river (SK-HU-AU), based on SPOT5 10m of 17-08-2002

Please also visit our website EUROSENSE

CONTACT
EUROSENSE
Nerviërslaan 54
1780 Wemmel
BELGIUM
Phone.: +32 (0)2 460 70 00
Fax: +32 (0)2 460 49 58
info.be@eurosense.com

(Apr 14) ESA PR 22-2008. The European Space Agency and Thales Alenia Space today signed a €305 million contract to provide the first Sentinel-3 earth observation satellite, devoted to oceanography and land-vegetation monitoring, as part of the European GMES programme. As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the satellite’s design, development and integration.

The contract was signed today in Paris by Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation, and Pascale Sourisse, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, in the presence of Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, officials from the European Commission, the French Ministry of Research and Higher Education and Dominique Bussereau, French Secretary of State for Transport at the Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development & Land Management Ministry.

Underlining the value of this mission for Europe, Volker Liebig commented: “This satellite is an important element of GMES and will enable Europe to observe important ocean parameters”.

Mr Liebig and Ms Sourisse celebrate the signing of the contract
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) aims at delivering environment and security monitoring services and is being led by the European Commission. It is Europe’s response to the ever-increasing demands of effective environmental policies and is at the same time the European contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

ESA is responsible for the implementation of the GMES Space Component, a package of earth observation missions involving ESA, EU/ESA Member States and other partners. Central elements of this Space Component are the five families of Sentinel missions.

Sentinel-3 will provide crucial data for information services to the European Union and its Member States as part of GMES. The services to be fed data cover areas such as climate change, sustainable development, environmental policies, European civil protection, development aid, humanitarian aid and the European Common Foreign & Security Policy.

The Sentinel-3 mission will produce a consistent, long-term set of remotely-sensed marine and land data for (operational) ocean state analysis, forecasting and service provision. A comprehensive measurement system facilitating global ocean and land observation is required in order to provide data for advanced numerical forecasting models.

Sentinel-3 will determine parameters such as sea surface topography, sea/land surface temperature, ocean colour and land colour with high-end accuracy and reliability. For this purpose, it carries an advanced radar altimeter and a multi-channel optical imaging instrument.

To achieve near-global coverage and meet all scientific requirements, Sentinel-3 will be placed in a high-inclination, sun-synchronous polar orbit. Near-realtime data processing and delivery will allow operational services to continuously profit from the mission.

ESA carried out the Sentinel-3 definition phase in 2005/6, drawing on an industrial consortium led by Thales Alenia Space. The implementation phase started in autumn 2007 and the launch of the first Sentinel-3 satellite is planned for 2012.

(Source ESA)

For further information:
Mr Bruno Berruti
GMES Sentinel-3 Project Manager
Earth Observation Directorate
Tel: +31.71.565.4936

Spacemetric News

Spacemetric helps in developing satellite image database

(25 March 2008) Spacemetric is supporting the Swedish National Land Survey in the development of Saccess, the national database of satellite imagery. Based on its long-standing experience with satellite imagery Spacemetric is developing catalogue, archive, processing and distribution functions for the database.

The Saccess satellite image database aims to provide effective access to both new and historical coverage of Sweden. Historical layers consist of imagery from the Landsat series of satellites from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. More recent imagery from 2005 and 2007 is mainly from the Spot satellites and Spot-5 is the first choice to provide new imagery to be acquired on an annual basis. Saccess will form a readily accessible resource for studies of the environment and the effects of climate change. The annual updates will provide the opportunity for regular follow-ups.

Spacemetric adds support for Worldview-1 and more

(11 April 2008) Spacemetric continues to expand the capabilities of its Keystone image management suite with support for several newer satellite sensors. The latest sensors are Digital Globe’s new Worldview-1 satellite, the Indian Cartosat-1 mission, Formosat-2 and Kompsat-2. All of the sensors have been requested by Spacemetric customers and reflect the company’s strong focus on providing customer value and service.

The work to add the new sensors entails the development of routines to read the product formats and the implementation of accurate sensor models to enable geometrical adjustment of the imagery. As the new sensors join the list of both mainstream and custom models developed by the company, this means that the Keystone platform is now able to support more kinds of imagery than ever before with the same tools and high levels of geometrical accuracy for which Spacemetric is well known.

Spacemetric supporting new methods in forest survey

(11 April 2008) Spacemetric is working with FORAN Remote Sensing, Sweden in the development of novel methods for synergistic use of satellite imagery and lidar data to derive detailed information for forestry applications.

Information on single trees is fundamental for many silvicultural and forest economical calculations. This information can be costly to collect and lidar is today a popular and rapidly growing complement to airborne imagery. However, simultaneous aerial surveys both complicate data analysis and the effective use of lidar assets. The development work, supported by the Swedish National Space Board, aims to demonstrate the use of high-resolution satellite imagery as an alternative to airborne imagery to provide both more consistent and cheaper single-tree survey products.

Spacemetric’s role in the project is to contribute its substantial experience and expertise in high-accuracy geometrical processing and management of satellite imagery and its eventual integration into a production environment.

About FORAN Remote Sensing
FORAN Remote Sensing specialises in the use of cutting-edge technologies for forestry applications. The principal area of work is advanced analysis of airborne laser scanning data for which they have developed the FORAN Single Tree Laser Method. “Website:“http:www.forans.se

About Spacemetric
Spacemetric is a Swedish company providing image management solutions for satellite and airborne imagery. Customers include the Swedish National Land Survey, the Swedish Air Force, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and the European Space Agency.
CONTACT: Ian Spence
EMAIL: is@spacemetric.com
TELEPHONE: +46 8 594 770 83
WEBSITE:www.spacemetric.com

The Space Economy, defined as the full range of economic activities in the course of exploring, understanding and utilising space, has become the next great frontier for business growth exceeding US$ 250 billion, according to Tuesday’s report by the Space Foundation, a non-profit research and education association.

More than 70 percent of total global space revenues were derived from the commercial space industry with US$ 173.4 billion in 2007. NASA’s budget by contrast is only US$ 17.3 billion in 2008. Commercial satellite services accounted for around 55 percent of total commercial space revenues. GPS-related services exhibited the fasted growth rate at 20 percent.

Phillips & Company, a global business development and market consulting firm based in Austin, Texas, launched its Space Technology and Commerce Practice today, on the 49th anniversary of the Mercury Seven press conference, when NASA introduced the first seven astronauts to the world. “We believe that the business opportunity in space technology and commerce will outpace and eclipse the growth we saw in the early days of the Internet,” said Rich Phillips, president of Phillips & Company.

“The Space Economy is a gold rush of growth opportunity for companies in communications, security, environmental monitoring, networking, entertainment and defence. As the networks of the earth are connected to the networks in space, this global communications revolution will make it possible to locate or communicate with any person or object anywhere on earth — or beyond,” Phillips said.

According to NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, “The Space Economy impacts just about every aspect of how we live, work, and play, including weather and climate monitoring and space-based security applications that keep us safe. When we pay for gas at the pump, draw cash from an ATM or enjoy listening to satellite radio, we experience the benefits of the Space Economy.” NASA reports that the space economy has provided more than 1,500 kinds of technology that have worked themselves into our lives, most notably satellite radio, cell phones, global communication and laser technology.

The Space Foundation Space Index published by the Space Foundation, tracks the market performance of 31 public companies with predominantly space-related revenues. Since its inception in 2005, the Space Foundation Space Index has grown by 29 percent and outpaced S&P 500.

High-technology leaders are embracing the growth opportunities of the Space Economy. Since 2003, Cisco Systems has demonstrated a commitment to space-based networking extending the Internet to satellites with onboard routing. Google has also weighed in on the role of the Space Economy in a presentation to NASA and government leaders this January. “Isn’t it obvious that spacecraft should have an Internet on them, too?” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

NASA, which turns 50 this year, has been shifting its focus in recent years in support of a public-private partnership model that fosters increased collaboration with commercial enterprise. According to NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, “The Space Economy today is much bigger than NASA and becoming more so. But NASA has another role to play, that of an important catalyst for new ideas and new technology by setting extraordinary goals and engaging the imagination and drive of entrepreneurs in the private sector.”

The Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation issues licenses for the operations of non-federal launch sites, or “spaceports.” There are currently 14 spaceports in the United States with eight more currently in the planning or construction phase, including Spaceport America in New Mexico. According to the FAA, space tourism could generate more than US$ 1 billion in annual revenue by 2021, the largest share comprising suborbital flights, like the ones proposed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.

By 2012, Galactic Suite, based in Barcelona, plans to bring its first guests to an orbital space hotel for several days of weightless rest and relaxation roughly 200 miles above the earth.

Conservatively, the Space Economy is expected to experience a CAGR between 12 and 18 percent over the next five years. Said Phillips, “If this trend continues, the Space Economy will be a trillion dollar market within 10 years. Companies that understand how to translate technology innovation into sound business practices will win. Regardless, no one can deny that our future is in the stars.”

About Phillips & Company

Phillips & Company helps leading companies achieve sustainable revenue growth through the creation and execution of strategic business development campaigns. Business solutions include brand positioning, business development, public relations, integrated marketing and government relations. Ultimately, Phillips helps companies create demand for their products and services by broadening and reinforcing the trust customers, partners and investors have in their company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Phillips & Company has operations in Miami, London and Hong Kong.

(April 9th- source: Phillips and Company)