One way to measure the growing importance of space to the national life and the global economy is "to do the numbers." The projected increase in satellite launches worldwide is particularly revealing. On average, about 80 satellites a year have been successfully launched by seven different nations or international organizations since the end of the Cold War (see Figure 1). Over the next decade, the average annual rate of satellite launches could more than double, with 1,500 to 1,800 satellites being lofted into space. The growing output of space-related companies is equally dramatic. In 1997, estimated annual revenues for the global space industry were $79 billion. That figure could top $88 billion for 1998 and increase an additional 50 percent by the year 2001 (see Table 1). The space industry currently accounts for more than 960,000 jobs worldwide and is expanding at a rate of 40,000 jobs a year. During the past five years, financial institutions have arranged private-sector deals involving space worth more than $20 billion, with an estimated $65 billion more required to fund new commercial systems during the next five years. Thus, while the public continues to identify space most closely with scientific exploration and high adventure, space has also become a big business and represents a huge investment in terms of capital assets and jobs. The root cause for this explosion in space activity has been the ever-widening array of goods and services satellites provide to both the national security and commercial sectors.

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Klotz, Frank G. Space, Commerce, and National Security. Washington, D.C.: Council on Foreign Relations, January 1999. [ 12 quotes ] [ page 6 ]