Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott is hoping the Island's involvement with the space industry will take off, after he attended the World Satellite Business Week in Paris last week.

A Government press release, published yesterday, revealed that Mr. Scott had a series of meetings with satellite operators and launch service providers during the conference.

Among the topics he discussed was how the Bermuda insurance market could help the industry to manage its high levels of risk.

And he was looking to add to the number of space industry companies that are already domiciled on the Island.

"The summit provided us with the opportunity to sell Bermuda as an emerging hub for the space industry, and take advantage of an invaluable networking opportunity with key market players," Mr. Scott said yesterday.

"Our discussions also identified gaps in the space insurance market, and information gathered at this summit will assist us at the Ministry as we consider ways of improving access of Bermuda's insurance sector to the high-risk space industry." The World Satellite Business Week is an annual gathering of satellite business executives from all over the world.

The summit brought together more than 400 leaders from all aspects of the industry, including satellite operators, launch service providers, Earth observation operators and satellite manufacturers.

Also in attendance were insurers and investors representing investment banks and private-equity firms to discuss industry trends, business models and growth strategies.

Space industry investment and revenues have certainly rocketed in recent years on the back of burgeoning global demand for commercial satellite services.

According to The Space Report 2009, released on March 30 by the Space Foundation, overall worldwide space revenues grew nearly 2.5 percent in 2008, rising to a staggering $257 billion.

The report revealed that the largest segments of the space economy are commercial infrastructure and commercial satellite services, which together total 67 percent, compared to about 32 percent for government space spending.

The largest growth sectors were space products and services, which grew 10.4 percent to $91 billion, mainly due to direct-to-home television services, which generated $69.8 billion in 2008. Fixed satellite services showed the strongest growth rate, with revenue up 31 percent to $16.8 billion.

The report found that space industry stocks suffered along with the world economy in 2008, declining 45 percent, erasing the gains from three consecutive years of growth.

But investment and output remain strong and the long-term outlook for the global space industry was described as encouraging.

Intelsat, the world's biggest commercial fixed satellite services provider, with a fleet of more than 50 satellites and 2008 revenue of $2.4 billion, is based in Bermuda.