A needed metric to measure utilization of indigenous satellite images in developing countries

The effective utilization of images taken by indigenous satellites in developing countries is an important impetus for development of space programs in these nations. Recent trends in space faring developing countries show that space programs in these countries cannot be propelled or sustained based on technological aspects alone. The economic benefits of the space technology and applications is an important factor in ensuring the societal and governmental support for these programs. The extent of utilization of satellite images in developing countries is not well documented. In order to assess the extent of utilization of space products there is a need for measuring metrics which reflect accurately the needed information. The objective is to gauge the extent to which satellite images from different sources are being used in real projects and the extent to which indigenous satellite images have replaced the use of international commercial satellite images. In addition to the need for metrics to measure the impact of satellite image utilization on the space industry in developing countries, the paper attempts to assess the status of utilization of satellite imagery in the developed countries. The paper concentrates on Egypt as one example of developing countries that started their indigenous space programs in the last decade (1998-2010). The data itself is present in the number and topics of published material in regional remote sensing and space technology conferences.