Top 9 Space Organizations to Work for

This article will go over the top 6 companies in the space sector that you could consider sending your application to and where you can pursue a future career.

Innovation in space continues to soar, with $178 billion in investment pouring into the sector. There is no doubt about career security and growth in joining the aerospace industry as it is ever-evolving and expanding.

SpaceX tops this year's list of the most innovative companies in space. And there are 528 organizations whose efforts are reshaping their businesses, industries, and culture.

This article will go over the top 6 space companies to work for. And, who knows, one or more of these firms might suit you.

Let's take a closer look at these ranked space organizations.

1. SpaceX

 

As mentioned above, SpaceX outranks the rest of the companies on this list. What distinguishes them from the competition?

SpaceX made 31 successful Falcon 9 rocket flights in 2021. The Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket conceived and produced by SpaceX for the safe and reliable delivery of people and goods into and beyond Earth's orbit.

The Falcon 9 is the world's first reusable orbital rocket. Reusability allows SpaceX to reuse the rocket's most expensive components, lowering the cost of access to space.

The company broke its record for the number of missions completed in a year. In September, SpaceX sent the first-ever all-civilian crew into orbit and delivered four astronauts safely back to Earth.

2. Blue Origin

 

Blue Origin, the company behind the New Shepard vertical-takeoff-and-landing spaceship, lives by this motto: step by step, passionately — and covertly. The corporation was founded by Jeff Bezos, also the founder of Amazon.

It has around 3500 employees and growing. The benefits are great, with pay above average.

3. NASA

 

One of the largest and most well known space organizations in the world is NASA - or the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NASA was established in 1958 and built its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Today, NASA's annual budget is 22.6 billion dollars, with 17,373 people working for them. Some notable initiatives they did were Orbital Launches, Space Exploration, Space Science, Earth Observing System, Heliophysics, and Astrophysics, to name a few.

NASA was the first space organization to put a man on the moon, and it did it in 1969 when Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, winning the "space race." The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, now widely known as NASA, is a federal organization in the United States in charge of the civilian space program and aeronautics and space research.

At NASA, you will be able to grow your professional self.

4. Relativity Space

Relativity Space, a launch vehicle company, is manufacturing its 3D-printed rockets. 

Relativity's first launch, scheduled for early 2022, will send its Terran 1 rocket, a two-stage, entirely 3D-printed rocket, into orbit in a test flight to demonstrate its feasibility. This launch will be the missile that has been fully 3D printed.

Relativity completed successful testing of its first rocket, the Terran 1, in 2021. It will be the first 3D-printed rocket in space when launched early this year. 

In March, the corporation sent Stage 2 of Terran 1 to Mississippi's Stennis Space Center for fire testing. Last year, Relativity announced plans for a second, more giant rocket, the Terran R, which would be reusable and 3D-printed. 

Printing on the Terran R has already begun at Relativity's new one million-plus-square-foot headquarters in Long Beach, California. Here, there are many growth opportunities, with great benefits.

5. Rocket Lab

 

Rocket Lab is a company that provides launches to satellites into Earth’s orbit. These satellites keep countries connected and protected, managing waste, tracking weather, and much more. They were founded in the US, has their headquarters in California, and have around 500 employees.

They offer a wide array of benefits, from 401k matching to paid sick leave. The environment at Rocket Lab is fantastic as this team grows fast. Co-workers are very passionate about all the projects they do and this company will continue to grow.

6. Kymeta

Kymeta's flat-panel satellite antenna and connection services enable global broadband communications. Kymeta's antenna technology provides on-the-go internet connectivity to distant areas, allowing clients such as first responders to communicate important details to the public, such as forest fire location and trajectory. 

The US government granted Kymeta a $950 million deal in July. The Air Force will provide integrated connection services that span the air, land, sea, cyber, electromagnetic spectrums, and space. 

Kymeta successfully tested satellite-enabled 5G services in November with their electronically steered antenna in collaboration with satellite operator Intelsat.

The successful demonstration of satellite-enabled 5G services on Kymeta's electronically steered flat-panel u8 antenna utilizing Intelsat's worldwide integrated satellite and the terrestrial network was announced by Intelsat, the world's biggest and most sophisticated integrated satellite and terrestrial network. In a mobile setting, this is the first of its type.

7. The Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory

 

John Hopskins Physics lab has over 7200 employees and has done very interesting tests.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the world's first full-scale planetary defense test to guard against asteroids. It was launched in November by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

The project will demonstrate new technologies created and manufactured by APL to modify the direction of an asteroid's velocity in space in conjunction with NASA. 

DART is a NASA space mission designed to test a means of planetary protection against near-Earth asteroids (NEOs). The mission, which will launch from Earth in November 2021, would crash a space probe into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos of the double asteroid Didymos to study the future possibility of a spacecraft impact to divert an asteroid on a collision path with Earth via momentum transfer.

The DART spacecraft will fly approach an asteroid and purposefully smash with it to modify its course using a kinetic impact mechanism. In September 2022, DART is scheduled to collide with its target, the asteroid Dimorphos, which is not currently a threat to Earth.

8. Planet Labs

Planet Labs, an Earth-imaging corporation with more than 200 satellites that produce high-frequency data about our planet every day. 

Planet's geospatial insights are utilized throughout industries to influence the decision-making of researchers, corporations, and governments, from agriculture to sustainability.

Customers may subscribe to get satellite images of any area on the planet and explore the company's Planet Archive, which has over 10 billion square kilometers of imagery. 

Planet revealed in October that it was developing a next-generation satellite network with greater accuracy, picture resolution, and latency. In December, the firm went public as a public benefit corporation after receiving around $450 million in private capital.

9. ABL Space Systems

ABL Space Systems, created in 2017, has designed a concept for a transportable launch system that can launch a rocket into outer space from any flat concrete spot. 

ABL's rockets and ground stations are constructed in-house and can be transported in shipping containers, requiring only five operators for each launch. Early this year, ABL intends to launch its first rocket, the RS1 and has already won several essential launch contracts for the next five years. 

Amazon has signed a deal with ABL to launch two prototype satellites into space for its Project Kuiper broadband constellation by 2022. The project's objective is to provide a broadband connection through 3,236 satellites.

Last Words

If you found an interesting organization on this list, it will surely help you be off to a good start in your space sector.

Be sure to continuously strengthen your professional skills if you do want to work in the space sector.

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