News and events

• An OECD Space Forum workshop on "Assessing the state of the space industry and its economic impacts: Methods and results from selected OECD countries”, on 21 March 2013, aims to take stock of the current state of play in developing and producing statistics on the space sector, and review on-going practices in measuring the impacts of space investments. Representatives of ministries, space agencies, official statistics producers, as well as industry associations will participate. Participation is by invitation only.
  
  
• The OECD Space Forum participated in the London Space Solutions Conference on 3-4 December 2012, at the invitation of the UK Space Agency, Eurisy and the European GNSS Agency (GSA), providing a keynote speech for the session on space solutions for local authorities managing their towns and cities.

• The OECD became an official observer at the European Space Agency’s Council meeting at ministerial level in Naples, Italy on 20-21 November 2012. OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yves Leterme addressed the assembly of Ministers and national delegations at the meeting, underlining the need for innovation and careful infrastructure investments to stimulate the economy.

• The OECD Space Forum was invited to provide an overview of the state of the space economy at the 14th European Interparliamentary Space conference, held at the Polish Parliament in Warsaw on 21-23 October 2012. This is an annual event assembling representatives in National Parliaments of the member states of the European Union and/or of the European Space Agency that have created dedicated parliamentary bodies dealing with space affairs.

• The OECD Space Forum held an international symposium on Monitoring global threats: The contribution of satellite technologies on 12 October 2012 in Paris.  The event was attended by some 130 participants from 34 countries, from the space community, the emergency/disaster management community, and from a wide range of ministries and departments – science, technology, research, innovation, education, energy, environment, industry. The keynote speeches were delivered by UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, The Rt Honorable David Willetts MP; Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director-General, ESA, and Barbara Ryan, Secretariat Director, GEO. Participants were welcomed by Andy Wyckoff, OECD Director for Science, Technology and Industry, and Yves Leterme, OECD Deputy Secretary-General.

• The OECD Space Forum Steering Group met in Paris on 11 October 2012 to review Forum work and to discuss, plan, shape and prioritise activities for 2013-14. Space Forum members stated their continuing strategic interest in the Forum’s activities. The growing economic dimension of space activities – which is not studied in any other international organisation – is a reflection of the originality of the work and documents produced. The Forum’s results are used extensively by a number of well established and emerging space-faring countries to draft their policies. To learn more about the Forum, check the latest FAQ.

• A series of OECD Space Forum workshops in 2012. In early 2012 the Space Forum launched a study aiming to examine how space technologies could be useful in addressing diverse types of threats, ranging from natural disasters to piracy. The study built on the momentum created by the conclusions of a major 2011 OECD project on future global shocks, where it was found that for a large number of threats, there was a clear need for more surveillance mechanisms and early warning systems. To learn more about the project, see the FAQ on the role of space technologies and ICT in the surveillance of global threats.

Publications 

	OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy 2012 This publication provides a summary of the key methodological issues surrounding indicators and statistics on the space sector and the larger space economy.
	The Space Economy at a Glance 2011 This new edition paints an updated and richly detailed picture of the space industry, its downstream services activities, and its wider economic and social impacts.
	Space Technologies and Climate Change: Implications for Water Management, Marine Resources and Maritime Transport This book examines the contributions that space technologies can make in tackling some of the serious problems posed by climate change.
	Space 2030: Tackling Society's Challenges This book assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks that currently govern space activities in the OECD area and beyond.
	Space 2030: Exploring the Future of Space Applications Where is the space sector heading now? What are the obstacles to its further development? What are its future prospects? What are the applications that are likely to be successful in the future?