Space Careers

In this chapter:

As you already may have grasped, the business of space is a broad, diverse industry that offers numerous opportunities. Finding your focus can be a challenge, but starting with your passion is a good first step. To help you begin this journey, this chapter is designed to give you a better understanding of what four estates constitute space: civil government, military, commercial, and academia.

From the birth of the Space Age in the late 1950s through the mid-1980s, space was predominantly a government-driven enterprise. Even today, the U.S. government remains the largest single customer and client for space hardware, software, and services. It remains a driving force behind many efforts, especially those related to human spaceflight endeavors where the resources committed by NASA greatly exceed that of any other organization. U.S. military activities related to satellites for communications, launch, operations, and monitoring the planet maintain a budget that exceeds that of NASA.

The opening of satellite communications to private, non-governmental, and inter-governmental organizations in the 1980s, combined with the opening of the commercial rocket launch business in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, began a transformation of the sector and opened the commercial sector to pursuing more ventures than just supporting government efforts. By the late 1990s, revenues generated from commercial activities surpassed government expenditures for the first time. Much of this revenue resulted from the use of satellites for information, communications, and entertainment, with the distribution and transmission of video programming driving the sector.

Today, the industry continues to expand and attract interest. It is vital to national security as well as disaster mitigation and response; critical to weather monitoring; a fundamental part of science and technological leadership; a source of national pride, and a vital element to provide information, communications, and entertainment in an increasingly digital and mobile world. The evidence of the integration of space into the global economy is all around us—whenever we access the Internet, while flying on a plane, or looking at the latest weather forecast. Regardless of the career you decide to pursue, this is an exciting time when new economic paths are emerging.

Public companies, private companies, government agencies, military organizations, universities, and research institutions all play a role in the space industry. Understanding the roles and activities of each will enable the job hunter to identify opportunities. Ultimately, your career will find you working for one of these four types of organizations:

1. Civil government space

2. Military space

3. Commercial space

4. Academia

“No one person, no one company, no one government agency,
has a monopoly on the competence, the missions, or the
requirements for the space program”

-- U.S. President Lyndon Johnson

Space remains a vital national interest to the U.S. government for both civil and military activities. The military and intelligence communities continue to integrate space assets and information into their everyday activities. To highlight its importance, speeches by Air Force officials have long stated that the organization is actually an “Air and Space Force”.

The government is also the prime mover in a number of major civilian programs, including the International Space Station, the Orion and Commercial Crew vehicles, and a host of smaller science-oriented missions, including rovers visiting the planet Mars. In addition, research performed with the Hubble Space Telescope and other space observatories continues to provide amazing data about the universe.

With budgets for civil government, military, and intelligence space activities expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, they provide a hefty $40 billion annually.

The U.S. government is involved in a wide range of non-military activities, from monitoring Earth’s weather, to human and robotic exploration of the solar system, to regulating the frequencies that satellite communications operate in.

Although NASA receives the largest budget and is the primary organization for space science and exploration in the United States, other agencies play a significant role from the weather related activities of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the commercial launch safety responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration, to activities performed by the Department of Commerce, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

With an annual budget of more than $17 billion, NASA is the lead civilian agency for advancing the state-of-the-art in technology and hardware development, the utilization of space data and resources, and science and space exploration.

Budget Authority in Millions—Real Year Dollars
(Aerospace Report to the President)

While many think of NASA as a well-funded agency, its budget is actually modest compared to other parts of the government. Considering the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math to the U.S. economy, NASA’s $17+ billion budget is small compared to the nearly $500 billion discretionary budget for the Department of Defense or the $1.02 trillion budget for the Department of Health and Human Services. In relation to the total U.S. budget, NASA’s funding is less than half of one percent of total government outlays.

• Science, including astrophysics, planetary science, Earth science, medical research, and microgravity

• Human spaceflight, including the International Space Station and new vehicle development

• Advanced technology development

• Transfer of NASA-developed technology to the overall economy

Professional, Engineering and Scientific (60% of positions)
Occupations in this category require knowledge in a specialized field, such as science, math, engineering, law, or accounting (depending on the specific position). These positions generally require a bachelor’s degree or higher degree with major study in a specialized field.

Administrative and Management (24% of positions)
Occupations in this category require knowledge of principles, concepts, and practices associated with organizations, administration, or management. While these positions do not require specialized education (except for contracting positions), they do involve the type of skills (analytical, research, writing, judgment) typically gained through a college-level education, or through progressively responsible experience. This group covers positions such as contract specialist, administrative specialist, budget analyst, public affairs, and IT specialist.

Clerical and Administrative Support (7% of positions)
Occupations in this category provide general office or program support duties, such as preparing, receiving, reviewing, and verifying documents; processing transactions; maintaining office records; or locating and compiling data or information from files.

Technical and Medical Support (9% of positions)
Occupations in this category support professional or administrative work. Duties require practical knowledge of techniques and equipment, gained through experience and/or specific training less than that represented by college graduation. This group covers positions such as electronics or engineering technician.

NASA is a single agency of the U.S. government comprised of a headquarters, field centers, and several specialized facilities. NASA Headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., and is responsible for interactions with Congress, the White House, and other government agencies. The headquarters staff exercises management control over the centers and other installations. Responsibilities include overseeing and developing new programs and projects; establishing management policies, procedures, and performance criteria; and evaluating the progress of all phases of the aerospace program.

NASA Headquarters
300 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20546
Tel: +1 (202) 358-0000
http://www.nasa.gov

Most of the technical work within NASA is performed and managed at its field centers. Located throughout the United States, each center maintains specializations and facilities in certain technical areas. Interestingly enough, the field centers overlap in their technical expertise and have been known to compete with one another for certain projects and funding.

• Ames Research Center, California

• Armstrong Flight Research Center, California

• Glenn Research Center, Ohio

• Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California

• Johnson Space Center, Texas

• Kennedy Space Center, Florida

• Langley Research Center, Virginia

• Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama

• Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

• Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York

• IV and V Facility, West Virginia

• Michoud Assembly Facility, Louisiana

• NASA Engineering and Safety Center, Virginia

• NASA Safety Center, Ohio

• NASA Shared Services Center, Mississippi

• Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia

• White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico

Ames conducts critical research and develops enabling technologies in astrobiology, information technology, fundamental space biology, nanotechnology, air traffic management, thermal protection systems, and human factors essential to virtually all NASA missions. Areas of interest include entry systems, supercomputing, airborne science, low-cost science missions to low Earth orbit and the Moon, biology and astrobiology, finding exoplanets, autonomy and robotics, lunar science, human factors, wind tunnels, and ground testing.

As the lead for flight research, NASA Armstrong focuses on innovations in aeronautics and space technology. The newest, fastest, the highest—all have made their debut in the vast, clear desert skies over Armstrong.

Glenn Research Center develops and transfers critical technologies that address national priorities through research, technology development, and systems development for safe and reliable aeronautics, aerospace, and space applications.

Glenn’s core competencies include air-breathing propulsion; communications technology and development (air traffic management, communications and navigation among satellites, aircraft, spacecraft, astronauts, robots and ground systems; advanced antennas, integrated radio frequency and optical terminals, software-defined radios, high-power amplifiers and networking for high-data-rate communications); advanced spacecraft propulsion systems and cryogenic fluid flight systems; in-space propulsion includes: propellants, chemical propulsion, and electric propulsion (ion, Hall, plasma) and nuclear propulsion; cryogenic fluid management; power, energy storage and conversion; and materials and structures for extreme environments.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation’s largest organization of combined scientists, engineers, and technologists who build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study Earth, the Sun, the solar system, and the universe.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by the California Institute of Technology is NASA’s lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system (including Galileo, Voyager, Magellan, and upcoming missions to Mars). It also is heavily involved with environmental research (including the Shuttle Imaging Radar and TOPEX/POSEIDON).

From the early Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab projects to today’s International Space Station and Orion programs, as well as home to the NASA astronaut corps, Johnson is NASA’s lead center for human spaceflight and hosts mission control operations.

Focus areas include aeronautics, atmospheric science, space experiments, and technology spinoffs.

Maintains expertise in large-scale, complex space systems development with a core capability in propulsion. Involved with every stage of spacecraft and launch vehicle development and operations, including developing large space structures and their supporting space systems. Marshall also develops and manages small satellite projects and scientific payloads on a variety of spacecraft; develops, tests, and manages scientific instruments, experiments, and spacecraft that gather vital information about Earth and space; and performs microgravity research.

Stennis is responsible for NASA’s rocket propulsion testing and for partnering with industry to develop and implement remote-sensing technology.

Conducts a broad study of global change, an interdisciplinary initiative addressing natural and human-made changes in the environment that occur on various time scales—one-time events, such as volcanic explosions; seasonal and annual effects, such as El Niño; and up to the millennia of ice ages—and how they affect the habitability of our planet.

NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility was established in 1993 to provide the highest achievable levels of safety and cost effectiveness for mission critical software. NASA’s IV&V Program houses approximately 270 employees

Michoud’s capabilities include the manufacture and assembly of critical hardware components for exploration vehicles under development at Marshall and other NASA centers.

The ESC’s mission is to perform value-added independent testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA’s high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success.

Established in October 2006 to support the safety and mission assurance requirements of NASA’s portfolio of programs and projects. Focused on improving the development of personnel, processes, and tools needed for the safe and successful achievement of NASA’s strategic goals, the NSC is comprised of four functional offices: technical excellence, knowledge management systems, audits and assessments, and mishap investigation support.

The NSSC performs selected business activities for all NASA centers in financial management, human resources, information technology, procurement, and business support services. The NSSC is supported, under contract, by its service provider, CSC.

Building 1111, C Road
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
Tel: +1 (877) 677-2123
http://www.nssc.nasa.gov/

Wallops primary technical activities include launching research carriers, such as sounding rockets, balloons, aircraft, and small orbital carriers, as well as conducting Earth science research and operating the Wallops Orbital Tracking Station.

WSTF conducts simulated mission duty cycle testing to develop numerous full-scale propulsion systems and is a center of technical excellence in the fields of high-pressure oxygen systems/materials and rocket propellant safety. WSTF also offers functional and performance evaluation tests; hazards/failure analyses of materials, components, and complete systems; and system design evaluation and recommendations.

The Office of Commercial Space Transportation manages its licensing and regulatory work as well as a variety of programs and initiatives to ensure the health and facilitate the growth of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry via five divisions: the Space Transportation Development Division, the Licensing and Evaluation Division, the Regulations and Analysis Division, the Safety Inspection Division, and the Operations Integration Division.

Office of Commercial Space Transportation
800 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20591
Tel: +1 (202) 267-7793
http://www.faa.gov/go/ast

The FCC is responsible for developing and administering policies and procedures concerning the regulation of telecommunications facilities and services under its jurisdiction and licensing of satellite and radio communications activities. In addition, the FCC represents the United States in international negotiations for satellite frequency allocations. Most of the employment opportunities in the office are in the area of law and licensing.

The ITA—Office of Transportation and Machinery’s Aerospace Team, works to promote and expand opportunities for U.S. companies on the international market.

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Room 4036
Washington, DC 20230-0001
Tel: +1 (202) 482-0554
http://www.trade.gov/td/otm/aero.asp

NOAA’s activities relate to the monitoring, prediction, research, and distribution of data related to the weather and the environment. Scientists at NOAA are active in research related to meteorology, oceanography, solid-earth geophysics, and solar terrestrial sciences. In addition, NOAA maintains and employs personnel for ground-station operations of satellites and archiving and distributing large databases containing research and meteorological data. Its facilities can be found throughout the United States and include the National Hurricane Center in Florida, the National Climactic Data Center in North Carolina, the Space Environment Center in Colorado, and the Satellite Operations Control Center in Maryland. The division responsible for most of NOAA’s space activities is the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). NESDIS maintains two primary constellations of environmental satellites: polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites. These are part of NOAA’s integrated observing system, which includes satellites, radars, surface automated weather stations, weather balloons, sounders, buoys, instrumented aircraft, and other sensors, along with the data management infrastructure needed for this system.

NSF is an independent federal agency that aims to promote and advance scientific progress. With an annual budget of $7.2 billion (FY2014), it funds approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities.

As the nation’s largest water, Earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems. Among its activities are managing, using, and archiving remotely sensed geologic data and research programs in the areas of geologic mapping, tectonism, volcanism, global climate change, desert studies, exploration geology, impact crater studies, asteroid and comet radiometry, and image processing.

Like many large organizations, the federal government needs employees with different types of skills working in many locations. The civil agencies that we mentioned are always looking for scientists, engineers, and other talented professionals to carry forward their missions.

Changes to the federal hiring process have made it easier than in the past to apply for federal jobs, gone is the dreaded SF-171 application. But the process can still be challenging. USAJOBS.gov is the U.S. government’s job portal. It is a free Web-based job board enabling access to thousands of job opportunities across hundreds of federal agencies and organizations. The Internet has made the ability to identify these much easier, however, when reviewing the positions take note of the restrictions—some jobs are limited to current government employees, some have a military veteran preference. With a generation having served in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, competition for these positions will be high. But don’t get discouraged.

If you are unable to find a position within the government that meets your background and experience but would still like to work on a NASA-supported project, consider working for a private entity with a contract from NASA. Much of the work that is performed in support of NASA projects is done by contractors. For instance, the contract for the oversight and manufacturing of much of the International Space Station, resides in a contract with The Boeing Company’s Defense, Space and Security Group. Likewise, the contract to develop the Orion vehicle is with Lockheed Martin.

1. Visit USAJOBS.gov and select “U.S. Citizens” if you are a citizen who currently does not work for the federal government, or select “Federal Employees” if you currently work for the federal government.

2. Search for vacancy announcements by keywords that might describe the position you want, such as job title, occupational series, or a specific technical skill. Consider the link occupations by college major, which may give you some ideas.

3. Filter the results based on your preferences, such as agency, location, and salary. You may select these criteria from the start with the “Advanced Search” tool. You may also create automated job searches compiling daily, weekly, or monthly results.

4. Select the vacancy announcements that most interest you.

In addition to the USAJOBS.gov website, NASA has created the Staffing and Recruitment System [NASA STARS], which is integrated with the Office of Personnel Management’s USAJOBS systems to streamline the application process.

To apply for NASA job opportunities, you will need a USAJOBS account. Here are the steps to create an account:

Create your account and complete your profile and build your résumé. You may create and store up to five résumés in USAJOBS. NASA’s application process does not accept uploaded résumés; to apply you will need to apply with a résumé built using the USAJobs Résumé Builder. This can also be used to apply for jobs at many other federal agencies.

You can search for NASA job opportunities by using the USAJOBS search feature available at https://nasai.usajobs.gov.

Once you have searched for and found a NASA job opportunity you are interested in, please read the vacancy announcement carefully. Take time to review your résumé to make sure you meet the eligibility and qualifications required for the position. Be sure to review the major duties of the position and ensure that your résumé describes your experience, accomplishments, education, training, and community or outside professional activities that are applicable to the position, Provide specific and detailed information including the start and end dates for each job you have held.

If you meet the eligibility requirements for the position, select the “Apply Online” button and follow the online instructions. Your information will then be transferred to NASA STARS.

Follow the online prompts to complete the application process. Be certain to read the on-screen instructions thoroughly before continuing. You will first see summary information on the job for which you are applying. Next, you will be asked to complete a series of questions that helps NASA understand your federal work experience, if any, and eligibility for special hiring authorities. When you have answered all the additional questions required, you will be asked to review your application before submitting.

Please be sure to read the announcement in its entirety before you apply to ensure you complete all the required steps and submit any supporting documentation required. You will not be considered for a position if any part of your application is incomplete.

After successfully completing the application process, you will be redirected to USAJOBS where you can view your application status, continue to search for job opportunities, or apply for additional vacancies. You may return at any time to update or make changes to your application package anytime prior to midnight EST on the closing date of the announcement.

The military use of space preceded the establishment of NASA in 1958. However, it was not until the National Space Policy of 1978 that the military perspective and use of space was emphasized publicly as national policy. From the earliest days of the space program, the military has had a vital interest in the development of space systems. In the 1940s and 1950s, the military led the effort to develop and use the V2 rocket technology, developed by Germany for use in World War II, in U.S. missiles and rockets. In fact, the early rockets used by NASA for human spaceflight were derived from military missile designs.

• Communications

• Remote sensing of the environment for terrain modeling, meteorology, and oceanography

• Reconnaissance and surveillance

• Position and navigation determination

• Early warning of missile launches

• Launch operations

• Space systems operations

• New technology research and development

The U.S. Department of Defense’s efforts are coordinated by several agencies. The Pentagon is responsible for developing an overall architecture for the space needs of the various military operations. Space Command, a joint military organization comprised of the Air Force, Army, and Navy and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is responsible for the overall maintenance and operations of the military’s space assets. These assets include satellites and their launching, ground facilities and launch pads for the rockets, and ground networks to monitor the satellites and receive data from them. Each of the component commands—Air Force, Army, Navy, etc.—also has operations devoted to the utilization of space assets, which largely depend on the mission of the command. For example, the Navy is interested in the use of remotely sensed data for oceanography and determining sea conditions, while the Army has an extensive interest in using satellites to track troop movements and equipment on the ground.

Other agencies within the military or intelligence communities that are involved with utilizing, performing research in, or developing space assets include the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Finding a Space Job in the Military
Positions within the military sector are occupied not only by military personnel but also by civilian personnel directly employed by the military or by civilian contractors. For active military personnel, available positions can be found through normal command channels. Others interested in opportunities in the military should contact their local recruiting office. Civilian opportunities can be found via the same sources listed under civil government opportunities, in particular USAJobs.gov, which is the Office of Personnel Management’s consolidated listing of federal job opportunities, located at: USAJOBS.gov.

You can also check the website for careers with the U.S. Air Force and the Navy.

As would be expected, universities and non-profit research institutions are primarily involved with research. Study topics span the spectrum from the effect of microgravity on materials or biomedical drugs to new methods for improving propulsion efficiencies to evaluating sensor data on the chemical analysis of stars.

In addition to pure research, many academic organizations also develop instruments and other hardware to support their research endeavors. Research positions within the academic sector are usually reserved for faculty and university staff and therefore often require a doctoral degree (PhD).

Research within this sector is primarily funded by government sources, such as NASA, the Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation, or by private industry. NASA maintains a mission to fund research and annually awards more than $600 million dollars to universities and non-profit research institutions.

Organizations in the Academic Sector can be found in Chapter 6: Colleges and Universities.

Commercial space has been defined as those projects or programs in which the commercial entity has acted as the lead in the financing of a new venture. In practice, however, with many companies focusing on both commercial and government clients, the commercial sector also includes all those private or public corporations that derive their revenues from government contracts but whose employees are private sector workers.

Institutions that focus only on government clients are commonly known as government contractors. The two largest and most recognizable names are known for developing and manufacturing space hardware: Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Still, there are an estimated 2,000 organizations involved with space and satellites, many playing a vital role. And like the rest of the U.S. economy, small and mid-size companies play a major role in the economic activity of the sector and represent the major area of job growth.

When we include contractors, the commercial sector tackles a large percentage of the activity within the sector, including almost all the manufacturing. Within this sector is an entire network of firms— from manufacturers and suppliers, to distributors and marketers of the product or resource, to those that provide technical and professional support.

For instance, to place a communications satellite in orbit requires companies that assemble the launch vehicle; manufacture the components (fuel pumps, tank structure, etc.) and subcomponents (gaskets, seals, valves, etc.), which make up the launch vehicle; provide test personnel to make sure the vehicle will operate correctly; provide ground-launch personnel to monitor the vehicle prior to and during flight; systems integrators that mate the payload to the vehicle, or the drivers who supply the tanks with fuel at the launch site. Then, of course, there are all the positions associated with designing, building, testing, or evaluating the satellite, the components within the satellite, and the payload, which is the reason to put the craft in orbit in the first place. And once the satellite reaches orbit, there are support personnel who will continually monitor the performance of the satellite and the end user of the data stream. Whew! But there’s more.

Other organizations that would have an interest in this flight would be risk evaluators, who provide the insurance on the vehicle and the satellite; the financiers who funded the project; the market researchers who evaluated the system’s potential; and the marketing personnel who sell the data derived from the satellite.

In particular, the commercial sector is being driven by orders from companies providing information, communications, and entertainment (ICE). In other words, the streaming data and video over the Internet, distributing television and radio programming to cable head ends or end-users; and global communications— anywhere and anytime on Earth. These “ICE” services are the core to the commercial sector and generate more than $150 billion annually in services enabled by satellite technology. That makes satellite services one of the largest industries in the world. And if anyone thinks it’s an “outdated” solution, one need only to look at Google, Facebook, Space-X, and Microsoft, that are pitching new multibillion satellite broadband networks to spread the Internet to remote areas of the globe.

Of course, when it comes to excitement and buzz, the media is fascinated by the efforts of private companies pushing the envelope of human spaceflight, whether it is the space tourism efforts undertaken by the X-Prize, Scaled Composites and the pioneering work of Burt Rutan, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, or XCOR; new rockets to supply the International Space Station, such as SpaceX and Orbital Sciences; rockets to take people to the Moon and Mars, such as Lockheed Martin’s Orion, and that suggested by Elon Musk, or efforts to visit heavenly bodies, be they asteroids or the Google Lunar X-Prize to land private spacecraft on the Moon.

Where Are They Located?
The space and satellite industry is comprised of a highly diversified set of activities. While spread across the United States, like other industries, space organizations tend to concentrate in areas where the money is or near talent at larger institutions or universities. Many of the companies involved with space infrastructure historically have been based in California, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and the Washington, D.C., area.—areas close to major NASA and military research and/or operational facilities. But when you look at companies that are involved with transmitting satellite communications and video programming or analyzing remotely sensed imagery and data, you find that companies such as these are scattered throughout the nation and the world. Sometime firms are near their primary customers, other times it is simply where the president of the company set up shop.

Agency	Activity	Budget ($M)
NASA	Science, communications, remote sensing, launch vehicles, human spaceflight	17,898
Dept of Interior	Remote sensing	66
Dept of Commerce (including NOAA)	Remote sensing, weather forecasting, trade promotion	1,444
DoT	Launch regulatory	15
NSF	Research grants	412
DoE	Nuclear / power systems	229
DoD (Unclassified)	Communications, remote sensing, launch vehicles, data analysis, ground operations	27,234

	FY2015	FY2019*
Earth Science	1.77B	1.89B
Planetary Science	1.28B	1.37B
Astrophysics	607M	933M
James Webb Space Telescope	645M	305M
Heliophysics	669M	676M
Aeronautics	551M	574M
Space Technology	705M	734M
Exploration System Development	2.78B	3.11B
Commercial Spaceflight	848M	172M
Exploration R&D	343M	395M
International Space Station	3.05B	3.82B
Space & Flight Support	855M	783M
Agency Management & Operations	2.78B	2.89B
Facility Construction	446M	390M