Developing Space Programs To Launch Dozens Of Satellites In The Next 10 Years
Artist's concept of satellites, plus the International Space Station, in orbit over Earth NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterCountries like Kazakhstan and Vietnam are taking a swing at imaging Earth. Is it just me, or is it getting crowded in here? More than 280 new observational satellites are expected to enter orbit around Earth over the next decade, Aviation Week reported from an analysis by Paris-based Euroconsult. About 30 percent of those spacecraft are expected to come from countries with developing space programs, such as Kazakhstan and Vietnam. The satellites will provide their home countries with images for crop monitoring, weather forecasting, military observation, urban planning and everything else that developed programs already use satellites for. They'll also provide competition for companies that sell their satellite images to groups that don't have their own satellites. Governments and other groups spent $1.4 billion to buy satellite images in 2011. By 2021, Euroconsult expects the...