Even as the United States plans a high-profile shoot-down of a wayward satellite, a new report shows Russia, China and others are gaining space market share -- aided by a U.S. policy that some say has misfired.
A new report argues that stiffer expert controls have reduced U.S. satellite companies' share of the global market 30 percentage points in 2000 to an all-time low of 45%.
California's commercial satellite industry, which has dominated the world market for decades, lost $1.2 billion in revenue, more than 1,000 jobs and significant market share last year, mainly as a result of stiffer export controls imposed by Congress, says a study to be unveiled today. In one of the more sobering assessments of the industry since passage of the legislation two years ago, the report will also reveal that U.S. satellite companies' share of the global market declined 30 percentage points in 2000 to an all-time low of 45%.
Congress may have to reexamine tough commercial-satellite export controls as U.S. satellite sales abroad have reached an all-time low and the industry's share of the global market has dropped 30 percent.
A single sentence, contained in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations act, classifies all spacecraft and satellite-related data as 'significant military equipment' subject to strict national security controls. As a result, universities are banned from sharing such technical information with foreign students, faculty, and collaborating researchers.