Big Data from Outer Space: Opportunities and Challenges for Crisis Response

Abstract

The current global financial and economic crisis does not leave the space sector unaffected. The concrete effects, however, are different from what might have been expected. First of all, no sudden decline in the space market or in programme development took place. This is mainly due to the long-termplanning and the long duration of project implementation. Secondly, and this is even more striking, space emerged in the high-level political debates to counter the crises as one promising area to focus on. The European Council of December 2008 stressed this and promoted that space as a ?lead market? should be an important element in the European Economic Recovery Plan and the European Plan for Innovation. The 5th European Space Council already in September 2008 had emphasised the contribution of space to implement the Lisbon Strategy and the ESA Council at Ministerial Level in November 2008 had initiated substantive new programmes. Through this, space emerged from the crisis with an even stronger political standing and reputation highlighting its economic potential as never before. The coming months, way into 2011, will show whether this promise can be kept and whether governments actually maintain their high engagement in space pro- grammes and as contractors for satellite systems facing a huge wave of replace- ments during the next years.