Space Industry

The U.S. space industry is a product of Government necessity born of national security imperatives. From its inception, space has provided competitive advantages to the United States in terms of national security, national pride, and technological superiority. Unfortunately, the United States favorable position with regard to space is eroding and, in some areas, it is losing its competitive advantage. Lack of unified Government leadership, restrictive U.S. trade policies, scarcity of critical systems engineering skills in the workforce, and emerging commercial and entrepreneurial activities are creating both obstacles and opportunities in a complex market environment. Establishment of a comprehensive national space policy in conjunction with a critical review of current export policies is necessary to ensure the health of this vital industry. As a customer, regulator, and advocate, the Government must take appropriate steps to promote favorable global trade conditions for the space industry and reaffirm U.S. leadership. This paper defines the industry, assesses the current conditions, and postulates the industry outlook. The paper also will describe the role of government in the space industry, identify specific challenges facing the industry, and provide recommendations to mitigate the negative effects of these challenges. A common framework used to define the space industry is a matrix depicting two sets of elements sectors and segments. Sectors are the markets served by space-based products and services and segments are those functions necessary to employ space capabilities. The three sectors are National Security Space, which includes defense and intelligence-related space activities Civil Space, whose primary customer is NASA, but includes all other nondefense Government space activities and Commercial Space. The three segments are satellite manufacturing launch vehicle manufacturing and launch services and satellite operations and services.