Statistics and Sources

Size of the Space Economy

The World Economic Forum:Space: The $1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Space_2024.pdf

The space economy is forecast to reach USD$1.8 trillion by 2035, growing at an average of 9% per annum. This is well above the growth rate of global gross domestic product (GDP).

“Space’s impact will increasingly go beyond space itself: The share of the total space economy captured by incumbent space hardware and service providers will gradually decrease to the benefit of non-traditional players such as ride-hailing apps, which would never have reached the global scale they have without satellite-based technology connecting drivers and riders and providing navigation services.

“Space’s return on investment will be more than financial: Beyond revenue generation, space will play an increasingly crucial role in mitigating world challenges, ranging from disaster warning and climate monitoring to improved humanitarian response and more widespread prosperity. Collaboration between public and private players will be key to ensure that space capabilities reach this potential.”

Return on Investment on ESA Astronaut Programs

Impact Assessment of Principia Campaign
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c139bcf40f0b60c70c4ba49/Impact_Assessment_Principia_Campaign.pdf

Measuring the effectiveness of the Principia campaign and its impact on the nation.

Evaluating the benefits of the UK’s investments in the European Space Agency
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3101-1.html

“Ultimately, very few of the benefits described here would be achievable outside of ESA, which gives the UK access to collaboration opportunities with leading European companies and technologies and a pooled resource from which to draw."

“Overall, every £1 public investment in ESA programmes leads to £7.49 directly benefiting the UK economy. The local and wider UK economies benefit significantly from ESA membership, with lasting increases in growth, employment, productivity and private investment for UK firms involved in delivering ESA contracts over the last decade. Thanks partly to efforts from teams within UKSA and efforts from organisations bidding for ESA contracts, the UK has achieved near parity in the UK’s geo-return figure, a measure of how many contracts UK firms win relative to overall spending.”

The socio-economic impact of space activities
https://space-economy.esa.int/article/35/the-socio-economic-impact-of-space-activities

“Every euro invested in ESA programmes has a significant impact on the European economy, with up to 4 euros created in the broader economy. Investing in ESA programmes also generates significant governmental revenues: up to 90% of the funding of ESA programmes are returned to governments as income tax, taxes on products (including value added tax) and social security contributions.

“The economic impact of space fares very well when compared to other key industrial sectors, which demonstrates the strong performance of the space industry in creating additional value for the European economy. A key reason for this high impact comes from the fact that the European space industry covers the full value chain. In addition, the European public funding for space is mostly spent in the domestic industry.”

STEM Statistics in Australia

Year 12 participation in ATAR Mathematics
https://amsi.org.au/?publications=year-12-mathematics-participation-report-card-numbers-remain-at-record-lows-and-female-participation-declines

The proportion of students taking higher mathematics fell below 10% in 2020 for the first time since the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) began recording national participation rates and reached a new low of 8.4% in 2023. Intermediate mathematics participation also fell to a historic low of 16.8% in 2023.

Year 12 participation in ATAR Physics
https://amsi.org.au/?publications=year-12-physics-participation-report-card

The proportion of students studying physics at Year 12 level has dropped to 12.1%, the lowest level ever recorded.

Females in Australia have decided by Year 4 that mathematics is not for them
https://timss2023.org/results/grade-4-math-achievement-gender/

Australian Year 4 girls have fallen behind boys in both maths and science subjects, making Australia's education gender gap the worst among 58 countries tested in the international TIMSS survey.

Almost one-third of Australian children are not meeting minimum numeracy standards from Year 3-9.
https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results

Public speeches by Katherine Bennell-Pegg

2026 Australian of the Year: Acceptance Video and Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=7JSk1iBr9emokF9D&v=QLv7kiS_cIo&feature=youtu.be

Air and Space Power Conference 2024: Integrating Civilian and Military Space Capabilities by Ms Katherine Bennell-Pegg
https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/videos/airandspacepowerconference2024-integratingcivilianandmilitaryspacecapabilities#:%7E:text=Conference%202024:%20Integrating%20Civilian%20and%20Military%20Space%20Capabilities%20by%20Ms%20Katherine%20Bennell%2DPegg

Building a Bigger Better State. Growing jobs, vibrancy, prosperity and population for our state are the aims of The Advertiser’s Future SA campaign. It champions growth and innovation – to build a bigger, better future for all South Australians.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/future-sa-2026-astronaut-and-2026-australian-of-the-year-katherine-bennellpegg/video/c36e0388f93d975d5379e66240cf4333?amp&nk=13fd77229e443aeea186c8e6231ca194-1775099091

Andy Thomas Space Forum: Keynote — Health In Orbit: The Microgravity Opportunity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB1ybjqr1Vw

SXSW Sydney: Space - How moments create a movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=11GNLVU6AZIJz2OH&v=CGUmUjr40LE&feature=youtu.be

Regional Tour and Personal Stories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCs1U5Owgy4

Spotify Playlist with Speeches by Katherine Bennell-Pegg
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Te4Vg5CjAtBdOjAeWFtVr?si=D0nShABQSe678WMvaQY42A%0A&nd=1&dlsi=8daaa633ff584dc4