1. Summary / before you read / place in the series

• "Space budget" is not one kind of number: NASA in the US had $24.4 billion enacted by law for FY2026 and a $18.8 billion request for FY2027. ESA approved €22.3 bn of contributions at its 2025 ministerial meeting, and Japan's FY2027 budget request is ¥1,079.1 billion (¥1,044.6 billion in total for FY2026). Requests, enacted budgets and multi-year pledges are numbers at different stages. [Ref. 6, 12, 20, 21]
• Rules sit with different bodies by purpose: launch and reentry licensing (the FAA in the US), frequencies (the ITU internationally, each state domestically) and export control (ITAR and EAR in the US) are separate gates. In Europe the EU Space Act is only at the proposal stage, and in Japan an amendment of the Space Activities Act was enacted in June 2026. [Ref. 8, 15, 22, 30]
• The foundation is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty: space cannot be appropriated by states, states are responsible for private activities too, and authorization and supervision are required. For materials engineers, export-control and licensing frameworks reach the trade and development of satellite parts and space materials. [Ref. 2]

2. Reading the words "budget" and "document"

(1) The words for money have stages

Without checking which stage a figure in a headline belongs to, its meaning cannot be taken. (1) Request: what the government asks of the legislature. (2) Enacted: what the legislature set as budget. (3) Multi-year pledges and funds: commitments over several years or top-ups of a fund. (4) Award: allocation to individual projects and firms. (5) Expenditure: what was actually spent. The figure places the numbers that appear in this article by stage. [Ref. 6, 12, 19, 20, 28]Sourced

(2) Different documents decide different things

Sourced / Not yet confirmed. The arrangement of the table is our commentary (classification of the nature of documents).

3. The skeleton of the international treaties

The five treaties produced by the UN committee COPUOS form the international foundation: the Outer Space Treaty (in force 10 October 1967), the Rescue Agreement (3 December 1968), the Liability Convention (1 September 1972), the Registration Convention (15 September 1976) and the Moon Agreement (11 July 1984). [Ref. 1] As at 1 January 2025 the numbers of states that had ratified, acceded and so on were 116 for the Outer Space Treaty, 100 for the Rescue Agreement, 100 for the Liability Convention, 76 for the Registration Convention and 17 for the Moon Agreement. [Ref. 4]Sourced

Here are the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty most relevant to materials engineers (summarized). Article II: outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, use, occupation or any other means. Article VI: states bear international responsibility for national activities, governmental or non-governmental, and activities of non-governmental entities require authorization and continuing supervision by the state concerned. Article VII: a state that launches or procures the launch of an object, and a state from whose territory or facility it is launched, is internationally liable for damage by that object. Article VIII: the state of registry retains jurisdiction and control over the object and its personnel, and ownership is unaffected by presence in space. Article IX: exploration is to avoid harmful contamination of celestial bodies and adverse changes in Earth's environment. Article IV: prohibits placing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the Earth, and the Moon and celestial bodies are to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. [Ref. 2]Sourced

Separate from the treaties are the Artemis Accords, which NASA began with the State Department and others in 2020. NASA describes them as a shared set of "principles" for exploration and use of the Moon and elsewhere that reinforce commitments to the Outer Space Treaty, the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement, and on 25 September 2026 San Marino became the 76th signatory. [Ref. 5] This is a framework distinct from the treaties, and this article does not assess its legal nature.Sourced

4. United States

(1) Budget: NASA figures (fiscal year from October of the previous year to September)

The summary of NASA's FY2027 budget request (April 2026) gives NASA's budget as FY2025: $24.8 billion (the amount in the continuing-appropriations law P.L. 119-4), FY2026: $24.4 billion (enacted, P.L. 119-74) and FY2027: $18.8 billion (request). The FY2027 request is lower than the FY2026 enacted amount. It also notes that a 2025 law (the Working Families Tax Cut Act, P.L. 119-21) gave NASA special mandatory appropriations totaling $9.995 billion (available until 30 September 2032), of which NASA plans to obligate $2.110 billion in FY2027. Of the FY2027 request, $8.5 billion goes to Artemis and Mars-focused capabilities, and the same law adds $1.8 billion for up to two additional SLS flights beyond Artemis III and for Gateway. [Ref. 6]SourcedOur calculation

The request summary also states a policy of using commercial services for all transportation after Artemis V. [Ref. 7] Whether the FY2027 budget has been enacted by Congress and at what amount could not be confirmed as of the check date. A request is not a settled amount until Congress decides.SourcedNot yet confirmed

(2) Licensing: launch, reentry and satellites

The US federal regulation 14 CFR Part 450 "Launch and Reentry License Requirements" sets the requirements for obtaining and maintaining a license to launch, reenter or both (§450.1). A license authorizes one or more launches or reentries using the same vehicle or family of vehicles (§450.3) and is valid for up to five years (§450.7). As a safety criterion, the expected number of public casualties (collective risk) must be at most 1 x 10^-4 (§450.101(a)(1)(i)). The rule lists policy review, payload review, safety review and environmental review (Subpart B). [Ref. 8] For satellite communications licenses, the FCC Space Bureau is described as leading policy and licensing matters for satellites and space. [Ref. 9]Sourced

(3) Export control: the split between ITAR and EAR (structure only)

US export control of spacecraft spans the State Department's ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and the Commerce Department's EAR (Export Administration Regulations). Category XV "Spacecraft and Related Articles" of the ITAR's US Munitions List (USML) controls the kinds of spacecraft named in the list, and spacecraft not described there are handled under ECCN 9A515 of the EAR's Commerce Control List (CCL), a note in the ITAR rule states. [Ref. 10] What matters for materials engineers is that which one applies is decided by the specification of the item (characteristics written in the rule, not an impression of its use). Concrete determinations need the rule text and experts, and this article does not go into military uses.Sourced

5. Europe: the EU and ESA are different organizations

European space has two frameworks. ESA (the European Space Agency) is an international organization with 23 Member States that is independent of the EU; the national space bodies of the members sit on its Council. The UK, Norway and Switzerland, which are not EU members, are ESA members, and EU members Bulgaria, Croatia and Malta have cooperation agreements. Slovenia became the 23rd Member State on 1 January 2025. ESA and the EU cooperate under a framework agreement. [Ref. 11] The EU, on the other hand, runs the EU Space Programme (Galileo, Copernicus and so on) through regulations (laws) and the EU budget. [Ref. 13]Sourced

(1) Money: the two figures are different things

At its ministerial-level Council meeting (CM25) in Bremen on 26-27 November 2025, ESA approved €22.3 bn of contributions (updated to final figures on 2 December 2025). ESA calls this the largest contributions in its history, a 31% increase (17% corrected for inflation) on its 2022 ministerial, and says science funding was guaranteed to grow by 3.5% per year beyond inflation. [Ref. 12] The EU Space Programme, on the other hand, has under Regulation (EU) 2021/696 a financial envelope of €14.880 billion for 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 (€9.017 billion for Galileo and EGNOS, €5.421 billion for Copernicus, €0.442 billion for SSA and GOVSATCOM). [Ref. 14]Sourced

(2) Regulation: the EU Space Act "proposal"

On 25 June 2025 the European Commission proposed the EU Space Act. Saying that today's European regulation is complex and costly because 13 national approaches sit side by side, it sets out a harmonized frame for the Union with three pillars: safety (tracking of space objects and debris mitigation), resilience (cybersecurity) and sustainability (assessing and reducing environmental impact). It would apply to both EU and non-EU operators providing services in the EU, with requirements scaled by company size and risk. The public consultation ran from 15 July to 7 November 2025, and the European Parliament and the Council are now negotiating it under the ordinary legislative procedure. [Ref. 15] As of the check date it is not an enacted law.SourcedNot yet confirmed

6. Japan

Japan's space policy is handled by bodies including the Cabinet Office's Secretariat of National Space Policy. [Ref. 17] The skeleton is the Basic Space Law (Act No. 43 of 2008), the Basic Plan on Space Policy (Cabinet decision of 13 June 2023) and the roadmap revised every year (the latest decided by the Space Development Strategy Headquarters on 23 December 2025). [Ref. 18] The Basic Plan sets a goal of expanding the space-related market from ¥4 trillion in 2020 to ¥8 trillion by "early 2030" (as worded in a note to the fund's basic policy). [Ref. 19]SourcedNot yet confirmed

On money, the Space Strategy Fund is a distinctive feature. A 10-year fund placed at JAXA to support multi-year technology development by private companies and universities, its basic policy says it aims to provide support on a ¥1 trillion scale in total (revised 25 February 2026). The fund has been topped up through supplementary budgets (the first phase from the FY2023 supplementary budget, the second from FY2024 and the third from FY2025). [Ref. 19, 17] According to Cabinet Office material, total space-related budget is ¥1,044.6 billion for FY2026 (initial budget proposal ¥496.7 billion + FY2025 supplementary budget ¥504.3 billion + planned fund-related spending ¥43.6 billion; as of December 2025) and the FY2027 budget request etc. is ¥1,079.1 billion (plus requests without a stated amount), the FY2027 request being +3% over the FY2026 total. [Ref. 21, 20] The unit is ¥100 million and the fiscal year runs April to March.SourcedOur calculation

Licensing: the Space Activities Act and the 2026 amendment

To launch rockets or manage satellites in Japan, a permit under the "Act on Launching of Satellites and Management of Satellites" (the Space Activities Act) is required. The Cabinet Office's guidance lists forms for a launch permit, type certification of rockets, conformity certification of launch sites, a satellite-management permit and approval of liability security. [Ref. 23] On 11 June 2026 an Act partially amending this law and others (Reiwa 8 Act No. 39) was passed and it was promulgated on 17 June. Amendments to the Basic Space Law take effect on promulgation and the rest on a date set by cabinet order within one year of promulgation. [Ref. 22] The details of the amendment could not be confirmed within the sources checked. The Cabinet Office also announced that on 1 September 2026 it signed a memorandum of cooperation with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on international commercial space transportation (only the title was checked). [Ref. 17] Applications concerning exploration and development of space resources also have a Cabinet Office desk. [Ref. 17]Sourced

7. China and India

(1) China: what the white paper shows

On 28 January 2022 China's State Council Information Office published the white paper "China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective." It treats the space industry as part of the overall national strategy and upholds the principle of peaceful use; it sets out achievements since 2016 (completion of the three-step lunar program of orbit, land and return, the start of space-station construction, Mars exploration and so on) and the main tasks for the next five years. It also lists speeding up the formulation of a national space law, revising measures for registration of space objects and regulating licensing of civil launches, and states adherence to the Outer Space Treaty. [Ref. 25]SourcedNot yet confirmed

Not confirmed: (1) whether a Chinese space law was enacted afterward; (2) China's official space budget (no published figure was found in this check). The white paper is a five-year policy document, not a budget document.

(2) India: the authorization system for private activity, and the Department of Space budget

In India, IN-SPACe (the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) handles authorization of space activities. IN-SPACe's material says that for implementing the Indian Space Policy 2023 there are "Norms, Guidelines and Procedures (NGP) in respect of Authorization of Space Activities" (document no. IN:ISP2023:NGP2024, version 1.0, 3 May 2024), listing the activities that need authorization and the criteria and conditions for it. In 2026 it added guidelines for authorization of the planned re-entry of space objects (noting that re-entry by natural orbital decay, where objects burn up or otherwise minimize surviving debris, does not warrant re-entry authorization). [Ref. 26, 27]Sourced

On money, Demand No. 95 "Department of Space" in India's Union Budget for 2026-27 shows a Budget Estimate of ₹13,705.63 crore (revenue section 7,329.71; capital section 6,375.92). By comparison 2025-26 has a budget estimate of 13,416.20 and a revised estimate of 12,448.60, and 2024-25 actuals are 11,518.65 ₹ crore (all gross before deducting recoveries; unit "In ₹ crores," fiscal year April to March). [Ref. 28, 29] The 2026-27 figure is an estimate, and its status of approval in Parliament was not checked in this article.SourcedOur calculation

8. Three gates: licensing, frequencies and export control

A space business (rockets, satellites, re-entry capsules and so on) passes three separate gates. (1) Launch and reentry licensing: permission to protect public safety. (2) Securing frequencies: the procedure for coordinating the radio waves of satellite communications internationally so they do not interfere with others. (3) Export control: control of where and under what conditions equipment and technology may be passed. Each has different bodies and procedures.

Sourced Details of each system are in the rule text. The table organizes what could be confirmed on official pages (our commentary).

On frequencies, the ITU's Space Services Department is described as implementing the space-system procedures of the Radio Regulations, processing, examining and publishing frequency-assignment notices submitted by administrations (governments), establishing coordination requirements and recording assignments in the MIFR (Master International Frequency Register). It also monitors whether deployment of geostationary and non-geostationary satellites conforms to the Radio Regulations. [Ref. 30] In other words, operators take part in international coordination through their own governments (our commentary).Sourced

9. Fiscal years, units, and why not to rank

Before lining up figures from different countries, four checks are needed: (1) currency and unit (dollar, euro, yen, rupee; billion, ¥100 million, crore); (2) fiscal year and period (the US runs October to September, Japan and India April to March; the EU envelope is seven years and ESA pledges multi-year); (3) stage (request, enacted, estimate, approved, expenditure); (4) scope (civil or defense, agency or fund, supplementary budgets included or not). For example, Japan's ¥1,044.6 billion is the sum of the initial budget proposal, the supplementary budget and planned fund-related spending, and includes ¥221.3 billion for the Ministry of Defense. [Ref. 21] NASA's $24.4 billion, on the other hand, is the budget of one civil agency, NASA. [Ref. 6] These two cannot be put side by side as they are.SourcedOur calculation

10. A materials engineer's view, and what could not be confirmed

What could not be confirmed

• Whether a Chinese space law has been enacted and China's official space budget
• Whether the US FY2027 NASA budget has been enacted by Congress and at what amount
• The content of Japan's amendment of the Space Activities Act (Reiwa 8 Act No. 39) and its effective date, and the cumulative amount of the Space Strategy Fund
• The status of Parliament's approval of India's 2026-27 budget and the period covered by ESA's €22.3 bn
• The final content of the EU Space Act (at proposal stage), national domestic frequency licensing and the space-specific details of export control in Japan and the EU
• The specific content of licenses for re-entry-capsule operators (this article covers only the general framework)

Summary

Space-budget figures differ in stage (request, enacted, multi-year pledge, estimate), currency, fiscal year and scope, so countries cannot be lined up and ranked. The international foundation is five treaties beginning with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, under which states are responsible for private activity too. The US licenses through the FAA's Part 450 and others; Europe operates through the separate frameworks of the EU and ESA, with the EU Space Act at proposal stage; Japan has its Basic Plan on Space Policy and Space Strategy Fund and enacted an amendment of its Space Activities Act in June 2026; China states its policy in a white paper and India has put in place IN-SPACe authorization guidelines. A business passes the three gates of licensing, frequencies and export control.

11. How to read the yardsticks and standards

Unlike technical performance, the yardsticks for how far a national space strategy has progressed have almost no common standard. What could be used in this check is organized by type. Checked on 17 October 2026.

The arrangement of the table is Our calculation (organization). Names, dates and statuses are checked in each body's official documents (checked 17 October 2026).

Reading notes (for materials engineers)

• Tell "proposal," "plan," "bill" and "rule" apart: only rules and enacted laws have legal force. The EU Space Act is a proposal, and Japan's Space Activities Act amendment is enacted but partly not yet in force.
• "Does it apply" is decided by specification: export control is decided by the characteristics written in the rule, not by industry name or an impression of use.
• Dates and statuses are updated: NASA's FY2027, the EU Space Act, the entry into force of Japan's amendment and any Chinese space law can change after the check date. Add the check date when quoting.
• Do not build a league table: this article does not rank countries. Be careful with articles that line up sums without the four checks of Chapter 9.

12. Glossary

13. References

1. UNOOSA (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs) Space Law Treaties and Principles (the five UN outer space treaties and their entry-into-force dates) — www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties.html
2. UNOOSA (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs) Outer Space Treaty (text; Articles I, II, IV, VI, VII, VIII and IX) — www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outerspacetreaty.html
3. UNOOSA (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs) Treaty Status (including the accession of Malaysia on 21 October 2025) — www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/status/index.html
4. UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee A/AC.105/C.2/2025/CRP.9 "Status of International Agreements relating to activities in outer space as at 1 January 2025" (numbers of ratifications and accessions) — www.unoosa.org/res/oosadoc/data/documents/2025/aac_105c_22025crp/aac_105c_22025crp_9
5. NASA The Artemis Accords (76th signatory on 25 September 2026) — www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/
6. NASA FY 2027 Budget Request: Agency Fact Sheet (April 2026: FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027) — www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/fiscal-year-2027-agency-fact-sheet.pdf
7. NASA NASA's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request (summary) — www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/fiscal-year-2027-budget-request-summary.pdf
8. eCFR (US Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) 14 CFR Part 450 "Launch and Reentry License Requirements" (§450.1, §450.3, §450.7, §450.101) — www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-III/part-450
9. FCC Space (Space Bureau page: satellite and space policy and licensing) — www.fcc.gov/space
10. eCFR (US Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) 22 CFR §121.1 "The United States Munitions List" (Category XV spacecraft; a note to Category IV refers to ECCN 9A515) — www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-121/section-121.1
11. ESA Member States & Cooperating States (23 Member States, difference from the EU, Slovenia joined on 1 January 2025) — www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/Member_States_Cooperating_States
12. ESA ESA Member States commit to largest contributions at Ministerial (27 November 2025, updated 2 December 2025: €22.3 bn) — www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/ESA_Member_States_commit_to_largest_contribution
13. European Commission EU Space Programme (components such as Copernicus, Galileo, EGNOS, GOVSATCOM and SSA) — defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space-policy/eu-space-programme_en
14. EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2021/696 (28 April 2021; financial envelope of EUR 14.880 billion for 2021-2027) — eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R0696
15. European Commission EU Space Act (proposal of 25 June 2025; in the legislative process) — defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space-act_en
16. EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2021/821 (20 May 2021; control of exports and related activities for dual-use items) — eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R0821
17. Cabinet Office (Japan) Space Policy (top page: Basic Space Law, Basic Plan on Space Policy, Space Strategy Fund, licensing) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/index.html
18. Cabinet Office (Japan) Basic Plan on Space Policy (Cabinet decision of 13 June 2023; roadmap of 23 December 2025) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/plan/keikaku.html
19. Cabinet Office (Japan) Space Strategy Fund Basic Policy (revised 25 February 2026) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/kikin/kihonhousin_20260225.pdf
20. Cabinet Office (Japan) Space-related budget in the FY2027 (Reiwa 9) budget requests (¥1,079.1 billion) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/budget/r09/fy09yosan.pdf
21. Cabinet Office (Japan) Space-related budget in the FY2026 (Reiwa 8) initial budget proposal and FY2025 supplementary budget (¥1,044.6 billion) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/budget/r08/fy08yosan_fy7hosei.pdf
22. Cabinet Office (Japan) On the enactment and promulgation of the Act partially amending the Act on Launching of Satellites and Management of Satellites (Reiwa 8 Act No. 39) (8 July 2026) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/application/eisei.html
23. Cabinet Office (Japan) Information and applications under the Space Activities Act (permits for launch and management, type certification, conformity certification, liability security) — www8.cao.go.jp/space/application/space_activity/application.html
24. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan) Security Export Control (the entry point for export control under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act) — www.meti.go.jp/policy/anpo/
25. State Council Information Office of the PRC China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective (white paper, 28 January 2022; Xinhua English full text) — english.www.gov.cn/archive/whitepaper/202201/28/content_WS61f35b3dc6d09c94e48a467a.h
26. IN-SPACe (India) IN-SPACe home page (norms, guidelines and procedures for authorization of space activities, etc.) — www.inspace.gov.in/
27. IN-SPACe (India) Authorization Guidelines for Undertaking Planned Re-entry of Space Objects (2026) — www.inspace.gov.in/inspace?id=reentry_authorization_guidelines_2026
28. Government of India (Union Budget) Union Budget 2026-27, Demand No. 95 Department of Space — www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/dg95.pdf
29. Government of India (Union Budget) Union Budget 2026-27, Demands for Grants (summary tables labeled "In ₹ crores") — www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/alldg.pdf
30. ITU Space Services Department (SSD) (procedures of the Radio Regulations for space systems; MIFR) — www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/space/Pages/default.aspx
31. ISO ISO 24113 "Space systems — Space debris mitigation requirements" (the 2019 edition is withdrawn; ISO 24113:2023 is its successor) — www.iso.org/standard/72383.html

14. Claim-to-source audit

Last updated: 17 October 2026. Sources are limited to primary materials (official pages of the UN, NASA, ESA, the European Commission and EUR-Lex, Japan's Cabinet Office, the US eCFR and FCC, the Government of India, China's State Council Information Office, the ITU and ISO). Whether a Chinese space law was enacted and China's official space budget, enactment of US FY2027, the content of Japan's amendment and the cumulative fund total, parliamentary approval of India's budget, the period covered by ESA's pledges, the final content of the EU Space Act and ASTM standards could not be confirmed and are not stated. The EU Space Act is at proposal stage. Sums are given in their original currency and fiscal year with the words of the document, and are not converted. This article ranks no countries, is not legal advice and does not cover military uses in detail.