Space Careers

In this chapter:

The space industry is literally comprised of hundreds of different activities. This brief chapter will provide you with a list to expose you to the diversity.

“But for pennies on the dollar, the space program has fueled jobs and entire industries. For pennies on the dollar, the space program has improved our lives, advanced our society, strengthened our economy, and inspired generations of Americans…

“The space race inspired a generation of scientists and innovators, including, I’m sure, many of you. It’s contributed to immeasurable technological advances that have improved our health and well-being, from satellite navigation to water purification, from aerospace manufacturing to medical imaging.”

U.S. President Barack Obama

There is no agreed-to legal definition of where space begins. Different groups have their own definitions about where the Earth’s atmosphere ends and space begins. Scientists have classified space as beginning approximately 200–300 nautical miles above the Earth’s surface. Aeronautical engineers generally use 54 nautical miles, because aerodynamic forces are negligible above this height. The U.S. Air Force defines space as heights above 44 nautical miles.

In conventional and customary law, the major space powers generally accept “the lowest altitude attained by orbiting space vehicles” as the threshold of space. This point, the lowest at which a satellite can maintain a stable orbit, is 90 nautical miles. To maintain this altitude, a satellite must have a minimum velocity of 17,500 miles per hour parallel to the surface of the Earth.

Ninety miles up, the temperature is as low as −450F or 3K; gravity is less than 1/1000 of that which would be felt on Earth; and radiation is much higher and more damaging than that on Earth.

But this harsh environment offers a unique perspective on the Earth below. Like looking off the top of a tall building or a mountain and gazing across the land below, the vantage point of space offers an opportunity to scan the Earth’s surface, thereby providing a platform for remote sensing, weather monitoring, intelligence gathering, and communications. And from space, satellites reach most of the world’s population, every day, in one way or another.

• Communications Satellites

• Planetary Exploration Satellites

• R&D Technology Satellites

• Remote-Sensing Satellites

• Spacecraft for Military Application

• Weather Satellites

• Expendable Launch Vehicles

• Reusable Launch Vehicles

Ground Equipment (The equipment on Earth that is used to receive and/or transmit data to and from spacecraft)

• Antennas

• Command and Control

• Ground Stations

• High Capacity Data Storage

• Receiving & Transmission Equipment

• Telemetry Systems

• Teleport Facilities

Ground Operations (Facility design, development, and use; monitoring and controlling spacecraft or launch vehicles)

• Launch Vehicle Operations

• Spaceports

• Spacecraft Operations

• Component Test Facilities

• Health Monitoring and Operations Planning Software

• Schedule and Planning Software and Systems

Human Space Activities (Activities related to the human exploration of space and effects of long- and short-duration spaceflight on the human condition)

• Human-Rated Flight Vehicles

• International Space Station

• Medical, Physiological, and Psychological Research

Information, Communications, and Entertainment (Using spacecraft to relay data from one part of Earth to another)

• Video Program Distribution

• Live News and Sports Transmission

• Mobile and Wireless Communications

• International Telephony

• VSAT and Private Networks

• Direct-to-Consumer Video and Radio

• Broadband Internet Access

• Telemedicine and Tele-Education

Global Positioning System Services (The use of satellite networks provides accurate positioning data anywhere on Earth)

• Enhanced Air Traffic Control

• Directional Services for Automobiles

• Logistics: Maritime Fleet Management

• Logistics: Land Vehicle Fleet Management

• Logistics: Cargo Tracking

• Mapping of Cities and Roads

• Navigation for Boaters and Hikers

• Improved Search and Rescue

• Weather Prediction and Forecasting

• Monitoring of the Earth’s Environment

• Searching for Natural Resources

• Oceanographic Forecasting

• Analysis of Soil and Land Conditions for Farming

• Use of Digital Terrain Maps

• National Security Intelligence Gathering

• Land Development and Planning

• Change Pattern Recognition

• Disaster and Crisis Prevention and Management

• Post-Crisis Communications and Logistics

Microgravity (Use of the special environmental conditions in space—such as low temperature and low gravity—to develop materials or products)

• Production of New or Improved Materials

• Enhanced Crystals for Biomedical Research

• Biomedical Drug Development

Space Science (The study of the universe, including stars, planets, interstellar materials, and the effect of the space environment on the Earth)

• Astrophysics and Astronomy

• Astrodynamics

• Cosmology

• Astrobiology

• Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Technology Research and Development (A number of technologies are used in various aspects of the industry)

• Lasers and Optics

• Power Systems

• Propulsion Systems

• Thermal Control

• Composite Materials

• Robotics

• High-Temperature Materials

• Control Systems

• Administrative Support

• Technical Support

• Legal and Licensing

• Financial Services

• Media and Publishing

• Public & Media Relations

• Marketing and Sales

• Satellite, Launch Vehicle, and In-Orbit Insurance

• Human Missions to Mars

• Manufacturing in Orbital Facilities

• Mining of Asteroids

• Orbital Solar Power Generation Stations

• Permanent Lunar Bases

• Satellite Servicing and Repair

• Solar Power Stations

• Tourism and Space Adventures

• Toxic Waste Disposal