IS SPACE A LUXURY ACTIVITY ? BACK TO CONCRETE FIGURES
- Paper number
IAC-08.E5.2.2
- Author
Mr. Max Grimard, Astrium SAS France, France
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Space has an ambiguous image for both decision makers and public opinion :
- some aspects are acknowledged to be useful (meteorology, telecoms, Earth observation, navigation), but the awareness is low about the level of investment requested to acquire these capabilities which are now considered "normal"
- Science is fascinating people
- Human spaceflight is considered a costly and useless domain, … even if everybody (including the politicians) would like to meet astronauts !
Globally Space is considered a very expensive activity, and its return not worth the money invested. The high media exposure allows to celebrate the successes, … but the failures are also dramatically visible. A lot of opinions regarding Space are based on "a priori" and on emotional reactions, in particular when addressing the cost issues.
In order to show that Space is not as expensive as generally felt by the public and politicians, the paper will present economical figures (in USA, France, Germany, UK and Spain) : comparison between the space government expenses with other government expenses (utilitarian or not), as well as with people domestic expenses, elements about the return of government investment for the global economy, comparative space efforts of the main space faring countries.
Based on these data, the thesis will be developed that Europe could invest more in Space, since the issue is not a purely financial one. The debate is on political priorities, even for non-utilitarian investments, and the question will be discussed about a better outreach approach to inform the public about the realities of the space activities.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.E5.2.2.PDF (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.