ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a definition of the space industry and outlines the main dynamics affecting the upstream segment of sector comprising satellite launch and manufacturing, resources, the undisputed role of military sector as well as the manned space flight sector. It discusses the downstream activities derived from space infrastructures, mostly in the form of services that are provided by the space sector. The United States, China, India, Europe and France lead the number of ongoing satellite missions. Satellite earth observation systems are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy. Meteorology was the first scientific discipline to use space capabilities in the 1960s, and today satellites provide observations of the state of the atmosphere and ocean surface for the preparation of weather analyses, forecasts, advisories and warnings, for climate monitoring and environmental activities. Satellite services are a growing part of the global communications infrastructure. Operators have traditionally provided communications to the narrower but profitable aeronautical and maritime markets.
