Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

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Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020
the space strategy and of the effects of the pro-
gramme in terms of leveraging clients, principally in-
ternational ones. 
The space strategy
In terms of formulating the strategy, the stringent 
relationship needs to be improved between the mis-
sion, objectives, specific sub-objectives, measures 
and indicators. This relates to the linkage between 
the strategic and operational levels, as well as the 
linkage with specific measures derived from these, 
which are not only intended as a guide for future ac-
tion, but which also allow stakeholders to monitor 
progress and make it compulsory.
In terms of content, it can be noted that publicly 
funded space agencies such as the ESA or NASA 
will continue to be the most important customers 
for the space industry, even though commercial 
end-customers are becoming more significant, and 
companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and One-
Web are challenging established stakeholders with 
new technologies and business models. Govern-
ment stakeholders are also increasingly investing in 
space travel (China, India, Saudi Arabia, etc.). This is 
resulting in a dynamic policy field overall and a mar-
ket that requires a short-term flexible approach 
concerning more opportunities for venture capital 
and cooperation and a medium-term adaptable 
strategic direction. Any future space strategy 
should take into account the opportunities and 
challenges arising from this. 
The competitiveness of the Austrian space 
industry and research
For the majority of the members of the Austrospace 
platform, which represents the main stakeholders in 
the space sector, the average turnover for space-re-
lated products and services increased between 
2012–2018 by approximately 70%. As a rough com-
parison, the global growth of the space sector over 
this period according to an estimate by the Space 
Foundation (2019) was around 37%. The exports by 
space companies in the observation period since 
2012 are in general significantly above the Austrian 
average of all economic sectors based on the foreign 
trade statistics from Statistics Austria. Nine compa-
nies with business models that are very clearly with-
in the field of space have also been founded in 
Austria since 2012, and another 35 companies have 
also been founded in sub-sectors involving space or 
using satellite-based data.
Measured in terms of publication activity in the 
field of space research, the output of scientific publi-
cations by Austrian institutions is on a par with that 
of Germany, which already holds a strong position 
internationally. However, the output is behind that of 
Switzerland, which is a leader in this area. The num-
ber of cited articles with Austrian involvement is also 
on a par with Germany, although this is once again 
below that of Switzerland. It is possible to conclude 
from this that Austrian institutions are successful in 
achieving internationally visible scientific results 
through the scientific cooperation they have estab-
lished with partners abroad.