Space applications are becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life. Weather forecasting, air traffic control, global communications and broadcasting, disaster management - these and many other key activities would be almost unthinkable today without satellite technology. The space industry itself is relatively small compared to other manufacturing sectors, but its technological dynamism and strategic significance mean that it plays an ever more critical role in modern society. Paradoxically, it also figures among the sectors which are the least developed in terms of robust, internationally comparable statistics and data. This book attempts to rectify that situation by assembling information from a wide range of official and non-official sources. Together these paint a richly detailed picture of the space industry, its downstream services activities, and its wider economic and social impacts.--Publisher's description.