1. How does the European
Space Agency impact the
economy and society?
Ryan Laird (UK),
International Space University SSP13
ryan.laird@community.isunet.edu
Kindly supported by an ISU scholarship from:

2. ● Much data is presented online by varying states which
ESA comprises but are in varying formats and not in
one place
● Complex political environment in Europe between ESA,
EU, EUMETSAT, NATO, UN etc.
● Highlight key areas space impacts society
● Highlight spin-off benefits of space to society
● Common question - “What’s in it for me?”, “How does
it impact my community?”
Motivation:

3. Source: Zervos, Lecture #36

4. ● 20 member states, 3 cooperating
states + Canada in cooperation
agreement
● HQ in Paris, France
● Sites across a number of
European countries with differing
responsibilities
● €4.28 B budget (2013)*
● Member states contribute to
programmes based on GDP
● ‘Mandatory’ vs ‘optional’
programmes
● International cooperation is key!
How ESA operates
*Source: Budget as presented
during DG Press Conference -
24th January, 2013

5. ESA Budget 2013
Source: Budget as presented during DG
Press Conference - 24th January, 2013

6. ESA Budget by Domain for 2013
Source: Budget as presented during DG
Press Conference - 24th January, 2013

7. Just some examples...
1. Road & traffic management
2. Environmental protection
3. Marine Environment & Maritime
protection
4. Emergency response
5. Sustainable energy
But space is much more...
Space: “What’s in it for me?”

8. Source: Space Foundation Report, 2013

9. ● The upstream sector includes manufacturers of space
hardware and providers of services that enable the
launch of systems into space. This comprises prime
companies and systems integrators for space and
ground equipment, which in turn build on the
contributions of subsystem and component suppliers.
● The downstream sector includes operators of
satellites and providers of space-enabled products and
services. These range from products and services
which can only be delivered through space to those
which compete with or complement other forms of
enabling infrastructures and / or services.
Upstream vs downstream

10. Innovation and growth
Number of R&D personnel in selected regions or countries, 1995-2009. Source: National Science
Foundation S&E Indicators 2012
Jobs!!!

11. Innovation and Growth Strategy (IGS) 2010 to 2030, IGS
(2010)
● Resulted in Satellite Applications Catapult -
established by the UK Technology Strategy Board "to
support UK industry and become a world-class centre
for the development and commercial exploitation of
space”
● A proposed expansion will provide an estimated
100,000 new jobs in the country.
UK Example

12. Following a successful ESA feasibility test, the UK Space Agency have provided £60m investment, and will back technical
improvements leading to construction of a prototype Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, or SABRE. Designed by UK
company Reaction Engines Ltd, this unique engine will use atmospheric air in the early part of the flight before switching to
rocket mode for the final ascent to orbit.

13. ESA Technology Transfer
Programme
ESA spin-offs 2012. Source: Space Foundation Report, 2013
A next-generation device for predicting the range of
electric vehicles is being introduced by German start-up
company mapZero, hosted at ESA Business Incubation
Centre Darmstadt, Germany.
Credit: ESA

14. 1. Make information more easily accessible and
comprehensible. Reports may be useful for businesses,
but to sell space to the public (and politicians) we
need to show the key information more effectively
2. Relate everyday activities to space and help promote
the range of space applications
3. Market space! Everyone else does.
4. Highlight jobs and growth in the economy
5. Highlight examples of possible 'disruptive' space
technology
6. Relate costs to everyday items e.g. cinema tickets,
highways
Proposal:

15. Let’s sell space. Others do!

16. ● ESA Spin-offs - Tech Transfer Programme http://www.esa.
int/Our_Activities/Technology/TTP2
● European Space Solutions Conference: http://www.space-solutions.eu/
● European Space Solutions Conference 2012, London, UK (archived) http:
//www.space-solutions.eu/index.php?anzeige=ess2012.html
● ESA Annual Reports http://www.esa.
int/About_Us/ESA_Publications/ESA_Publications_Annual_Report
● Space Economy: Indicators and Economic studies
● http://www.londecon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IAF-Space-
Economy-Technical-Committee-Final-19.03.13.pdf
● Meet ESA: The Space Agency for Europe (video) http://spaceinvideos.
esa.int/Videos/2012/10/Meet_ESA_the_space_agency_for_Europe
● The Space Report 2013, Space Foundation
● Zervos, Lecture 36 (ISU SSP13)
● Specsavers, “Space Shuttle advert” (2011) https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=r2nlyMIi610
References

17. I would like to thank both the UK Space
Agency and European Space Agency (ESA)
for their generous support of a scholarship
to enable me to attend ISU SSP13.
Acknowledgments
http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency
@spacegovuk
http://www.esa.int/
@esa