Forecast of Space Sector

Paris, March 2011: DKE Aerospace was awarded new study on Forecast of the European Space Sector.

The ESA study on Forecast of the European Space Sector is funded by the European Space Agency under the General Studies Programme (GSP) .It shall provide ESA and its member states with complementary information that would assist their decisions about the implementation of new programmes and the future direction of space activities. The GSP interfaces in different ways with all of ESA’s programmes, but its main role is to carry out preparatory analysis and act as a “think tank”, laying the groundwork for the agency’s future activities.

The European Space sector has been a great success story, establishing Europe as a player on the world stage across the full range of activities from space exploration to commercial exploitation. This success has been characterized by a vibrant industry sector that has seen the development of a number of world- leading companies in launchers, satellite manufacturing, and the development of complex instrumentation.

The present FORECAST study shall provide an outlook not only on space industry behavior (upstream) but also on the space application markets (downstream) as well as institutional behavior and funding mechanisms covering both public and private sectors. Thus, the main objective of the study is to estimate the future evolution (range 10-15 years) of the European space markets, their funding and industry.

This main objective will be achieved by forecasting the supply and demand side of space activity under different scenarios on relations and interactions among space stakeholders. The goal is to identify possible actions or evolutions at public (governmental, institutional) or private (industrial) level to improve the European space industry situation. In summary, the study will investigate how decision making by ESA management can be supported by using forecasting models.

For this study, DKE Aerospace Swiss (Switzerland) has formed partnerships with Hollycroft Associates (United Kingdom), EuroTeleServ (Luxemburg), the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and Sunwynd (United Kingdom). The consortium members have been selected to provide excellent expertise to best fulfill the study´s requirements.

‘The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency’