New York, August 10:

With India and China joining the US, Europe, Russia and Japan with “fully independent capabilities”, the global space and satellite market is looking up all over again.

According to the annual report of the International Space Business Council, an independent consulting group based

in Bethesda, Maryland, commercial sales in this market are expected to reach $158 billion by 2010, up from $103 billion in 2004. Experts say India and China are expected to increase their spending dramatically in the next few years, boosting the market.

“Government funding for space is on the rise, commercial orders for satellites and launches have rebounded and stabilised, new exploration initiatives are being pursued and entrepreneurial efforts related to radio, broadband and space tourism are generating excitement,” the council said in the report released yesterday.

Since 1997, when the council began compiling the report, governments and businesses have spent more than $18 billion a year on development of space systems. US defence spending on space alone accounted for $22 billion in 2004 compared to $15 billion in 2000. By 2010, it was projected to be $28 billion.

What is also fuelling the demand is the $40 billion satellite-to-consumer television market, satellite radio and Global Positioning Satellite and tracking capabilities, it said.