The turn of the century produced the expected crop of articles listing space achievements over the past 30-40 years. Many of them, particularly those connected with the Moon landing, made the front pages of newspapers all over the world, and are still regularly served up in television programmes. Nevertheless, they constitute an inadequate basis on which to make an assessment as to where — if the expression can be permitted — we now stand in space. It is no longer sufficient to look at progress in the individual space segments: satellites, launchers and the often neglected ground segment. The springs of action are now to be found elsewhere: the uptake of space applications by the end-users (most of whom have no knowledge of, or interest in, space); the increasing role of the private sector in financing space systems; the inter-twining of the civilian and defence programmes; political and international trade considerations, etc. This.article is an attempt to review progress against the background of these external factors and to present a balance sheet. In order to leave posterity with further palpable proof of the author's fallability, the article will close with a few thoughts on future trends and technological developments.
Although small in comparison with some other global activites, civil and military space operations account for about $50bn annually. Of this, slightly less than 10% can be identified as European, compared to just over 50% for the United States. This volume has been stable for several years and promises to continue at least for the near future, although the distribution between the various sectors is changing. Space is therefore an activity of considerable importance to public and private sectors alike, even though it has lost its high place on the political agendas of many countries.
