operating profit for the segment decreased by 1% ( 1 % ) in 2010 compared to 2009 .for the year , operating profit declines in defense more than offset an increase in civil , while operating profit at intelligence essentially was unchanged .the $ 27 million decrease in operating profit at defense primarily was attributable to a decrease in the level of favorable performance adjustments on mission and combat systems activities in 2010 .the $ 19 million increase in civil principally was due to higher volume on enterprise civilian services .operating profit for the segment decreased by 3% ( 3 % ) in 2009 compared to 2008 .operating profit declines in civil and intelligence partially were offset by growth in defense .the decrease of $ 29 million in civil 2019s operating profit primarily was attributable to a reduction in the level of favorable performance adjustments on enterprise civilian services programs in 2009 compared to 2008 .the decrease in operating profit of $ 27 million at intelligence mainly was due to a reduction in the level of favorable performance adjustments on security solution activities in 2009 compared to 2008 .the increase in defense 2019s operating profit of $ 29 million mainly was due to volume and improved performance in mission and combat systems .the decrease in backlog during 2010 compared to 2009 mainly was due to higher sales volume on enterprise civilian service programs at civil , including volume associated with the dris 2010 program , and mission and combat system programs at defense .backlog decreased in 2009 compared to 2008 due to u.s .government 2019s exercise of the termination for convenience clause on the tsat mission operations system ( tmos ) contract at defense , which resulted in a $ 1.6 billion reduction in orders .this decline more than offset increased orders on enterprise civilian services programs at civil .we expect is&gs will experience a low single digit percentage decrease in sales for 2011 as compared to 2010 .this decline primarily is due to completion of most of the work associated with the dris 2010 program .operating profit in 2011 is expected to decline in relationship to the decline in sales volume , while operating margins are expected to be comparable between the years .space systems our space systems business segment is engaged in the design , research and development , engineering , and production of satellites , strategic and defensive missile systems , and space transportation systems , including activities related to the planned replacement of the space shuttle .government satellite programs include the advanced extremely high frequency ( aehf ) system , the mobile user objective system ( muos ) , the global positioning satellite iii ( gps iii ) system , the space-based infrared system ( sbirs ) , and the geostationary operational environmental satellite r-series ( goes-r ) .strategic and missile defense programs include the targets and countermeasures program and the fleet ballistic missile program .space transportation includes the nasa orion program and , through ownership interests in two joint ventures , expendable launch services ( united launch alliance , or ula ) and space shuttle processing activities for the u.s .government ( united space alliance , or usa ) .the space shuttle is expected to complete its final flight mission in 2011 and our involvement with its launch and processing activities will end at that time .space systems 2019 operating results included the following : ( in millions ) 2010 2009 2008 .
[['( in millions )', '2010', '2009', '2008'], ['net sales', '$ 8246', '$ 8654', '$ 8027'], ['operating profit', '972', '972', '953'], ['operating margin', '11.8% ( 11.8 % )', '11.2% ( 11.2 % )', '11.9% ( 11.9 % )'], ['backlog at year-end', '17800', '16800', '17900']]
net sales for space systems decreased by 5% ( 5 % ) in 2010 compared to 2009 .sales declined in all three lines of business during the year .the $ 253 million decrease in space transportation principally was due to lower volume on the space shuttle external tank , commercial launch vehicle activity and other human space flight programs , which partially were offset by higher volume on the orion program .there were no commercial launches in 2010 compared to one commercial launch in 2009 .strategic & defensive missile systems ( s&dms ) sales declined $ 147 million principally due to lower volume on defensive missile programs .the $ 8 million sales decline in satellites primarily was attributable to lower volume on commercial satellites , which partially were offset by higher volume on government satellite activities .there was one commercial satellite delivery in 2010 and one commercial satellite delivery in 2009 .net sales for space systems increased 8% ( 8 % ) in 2009 compared to 2008 .during the year , sales growth at satellites and space transportation offset a decline in s&dms .the sales growth of $ 707 million in satellites was due to higher volume in government satellite activities , which partially was offset by lower volume in commercial satellite activities .there was one commercial satellite delivery in 2009 and two deliveries in 2008 .the increase in sales of $ 21 million in space transportation primarily was due to higher volume on the orion program , which more than offset a decline in the space shuttle 2019s external tank program .there was one commercial launch in both 2009 and 2008 .s&dms 2019 sales decreased by $ 102 million mainly due to lower volume on defensive missile programs , which more than offset growth in strategic missile programs. .

Question: what were average operating profit for space systems in millions from 2008 to 2010?
Answer: 966