Defence spending driving government space budgets

This is one of the findings from Novaspace’s annual Government Space Programs (GSP) report. In it, the space consulting and market intelligence firm reveals that defence spending accounts for most budgets at $73bn (54 per cent).

The US continues to lead global government spending, but its share has declined from over 75 per cent in 2000 to 59 per cent in 2024, reflecting rising investments from China and other nations.

According to Novaspace, the widening gap underscores the growing emphasis on defence-focused space programs, as space emerges as a pivotal domain for achieving strategic autonomy alongside maritime, aerial, and cyber arenas.

With the rising importance of space assets, more nations are establishing dedicated space forces and commands while simultaneously enhancing their operational capabilities to address evolving challenges. In this context, governments are bolstering defence capabilities, with investments in Security, Early Warning, Telecommunications, Navigation, and Earth Observation (EO).

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On the civil side, human spaceflight remains the largest category of global government space investment in 2024. Traditionally, leading spacefaring nations and organisations have dominated the budgets for crewed and uncrewed scientific missions and exploration programs.

However, this trend is evolving as more countries recognise the strategic and economic advantages of participating in space exploration activities.

“The surge in government space budgets reflects the strategic importance of space,” said Charlotte Croison, manager at Novaspace. “Governments worldwide are not only expanding their capabilities to secure their assets in orbit but are leveraging space to enhance their geopolitical standing and foster economic growth.” 

The GSP report anticipates a deceleration in the growth of public space expenditures in the coming years. Faced with fiscal pressures such as economic constraints and competing policy priorities, Novaspace projects that government space budgets will stabilise, growing at a modest rate of approximately one per cent annually through the end of the decade.

Stabilising budgets could benefit from enhanced collaboration with the commercial sector. Governments are increasingly adopting a ‘Buy Before Build’ approach, focusing on procuring commercial services from qualified vendors rather than developing custom hardware.