Got a clean criminal record? You might be next

Hello hello!

It has been (or it’s being, rather) a week of extreme highs and tough lows, depending on who you ask.

NASA has officially proved we can move asteroids (more on that below) and ESA seems committed to supporting startups building a spaceplane! (And ofc we have new funding, but this week is a bit different).

But space is hard… ESA just lost contact with one of the two satellites from the new Proba-3 mission and Japan suffered (again 😬) a launcher failure.

Luckily, the space industry doesn’t seem to stop hiring (ever). And it seems the problems are solved by hiring talented people, so that’s definitely good news for you (and me, haha)

Off we go!

🚀 Spotlight: New on findaspacejob.com

Here are some of the best space jobs available today:

• Pixel2Policy @ University of Liverpool (UK)

  👉 A nice PhD investigating how satellite imagery can be translated into policy to improve decision making processes. That’s quite rare!

• Space Instrument System Engineer @ Bertin Technologies (France)

  👉 Work on optical payloads and ground support equipment. Great systems engineering opportunity!

• Business System Engineer @ Space Industries (Italy)

  👉 Systems engineering + business = 😎💰🔥

• EO Future Microwave Payload Engineer @ ESA (Netherlands)

  👉 Working on future missions is always cool. And the payload is what really does science so it’s even cooler.

• Traineeship in Space Programme Operations @ EUSPA (4 countries!)

  👉 If you’re final year student/recent grad (and have a clean criminal record lol) stop reading and apply asap (the criminal record is a hard requirement, sorry….)

• Scientific instrument architect @ Bertin Technologies (France)

  👉 Like the previous one but a bit more hands on: you’ll be defining requirements, performing trade-off studies and designing the actual systems.

• Internal Research Fellow in Planetary Protection @ ESA (Netherlands)

  👉 A very fitting role to this week’s news. Basically ESA needs you to protect us from asteroids. And it’s not me who says it, check the role and read: “to modernise current approaches […] to assess biological and chemical contamination risks…” 👀

• Back Office & Procurement @ Involve Space (Italy)

  👉 [For Italian speakers] → it’s a cool role for someone looking to work on stratospheric balloons and AI

• Systems Engineers // In-person Event in Paris @ MDA Space (France (the event) but Canada (the job))

  ‼️ MDA Space is hosting a recruitment event in Paris next week!

If you do not see a role you like here, go check the job board for the full list. And tell me: what role are you looking for?

🗞️ News: a mix of good and bad news

NASA proves planetary defence actually works 

The data is finally in from the 2022 DART mission. NASA did not just smash into the Dimorphos asteroid; the impact actually shifted the orbit of the entire binary asteroid system around the Sun by a fraction of a second. (It might not seem much, but it’s a big deal).

This is the first time humanity has measurably altered the path of a celestial body. This proves the kinetic impactor concept is viable, which is exactly why NASA is now building the NEO Surveyor mission to hunt down hazardous objects early. Read more here.

ESA loses contact with half of the PROBA 3 mission 

Just months after launch, ESA lost contact with the Coronagraph spacecraft of the PROBA 3 mission. An orientation anomaly drained the battery and forced the mission into survival mode. The project relies on two spacecraft flying in precise formation to create an artificial solar eclipse. Without the Coronagraph, there is no way to observe the suns outer corona.

ESA is now looking at using the second healthy spacecraft to safely approach and inspect the damage.

A tough week for commercial launch in Japan 

Space One had to terminate the flight of its Kairos rocket just 69 seconds after liftoff, marking their third consecutive failure. All five payloads on board were lost. Japan has a massive goal of reaching 30 launches a year by 2030, but this puts them further behind. The government is still backing private space heavily though, with major players like Mitsubishi Electric and Honda continuing to pour serious money into orbital access.

If you want to see the RUD here (at ~1:15 approx):

ESA wants a European spaceplane built by startups 

This one I like: ESA just opened a call specifically for small and medium enterprises to design a fully reusable spaceplane. They are actively looking beyond classic rockets and want novel propulsion like air breathing or detonation engines. This completely rules out the legacy prime contractors, meaning startups now have a real chance at securing major institutional support for their vehicles.

The UK invests another £20M into Scottish spaceports 

Interestingly, the UK government just announced a massive £500M space spending package, dedicating £20M to accelerate launch infrastructure in Scotland. While SaxaVord is moving ahead with Rocket Factory Augsburg, the Sutherland spaceport has now been abandoned by Orbex, who declared bankruptcy a few weeks ago. Skyrora is already looking into the empty Sutherland lease but nothing has been confirmed yet.

The UK still has over €112M in European Launcher Challenge funds looking for a new home.

New updates coming to Find a Space Job soon

👀 nice things getting ready! So keep an eye!

On a different note: I can’t wait for Starship’s next launch!

Until next Thursday!

P.S. Hiring? Post your role here

As usual: connect on LinkedIn and follow the Find a Space Job for updates.