No rocket launch, but loads of space jobs

Good morning!

I would have love to see Isar Aerospace reach orbit yesterday but unfortunately the launch was postponed: space is hard indeed.

On the flip side, there’s been quite a lot of “silent” movement this week and a few pretty interesting projects announced (including a big “funding” round in Switerland).

But a very positive addition to this week's issue: we are back with a Career Spotlight! We sat down with a Propulsion Technician to talk about the actual hands-on work of building rocket engines (and fixing valves 😉)… and it’s all surprisingly relevant to Isar Aerospace’s launch delay.

Despite the launch delay, I hope you’re all good with your new year’s resolutions… just remember that it’s still too early to quit 🧐 so keep going!

Here you have some jobs to keep you motivated.

🚀 Spotlight: New on findaspacejob.com

Here are some of the best space jobs available today:

• Space Project Manager @ OQ Technology (Luxembourg)

  👉 Help develop an IoT satellite constellation and coordinate projects end to end. Quite a rare role!

• PhD Broadband Spatial Filter using Photonic Crystal Structures in Spaceborne Optical Instruments @ TU Deflt (Netherlands)

  👉 A PhD for my good friends looking into research. Quite a long title but still worthwhile right?

• Mission Operations Engineer @ Planetek Hellas (Greece)

  👉 This one is pretty new: Greece’s got some hidden gems… A top top top top opportunity. Mission operations can be extremely interesting.

• Sales Engineer Internship @ Revolv Space (Italy)

  👉 Help Revolv print money big time: basically you’ll become this haha

• Junior Systems Engineer @ SKAO (Multiple locations)

  👉 SKAO is coordinating a global effort to develop one of the largest science facilities on the planet. Pretty lofty goal.

• Electrical Engineer @ Liftero (Poland)

  👉 Work on electronic systems for in space rocket propulsion! (The company btw already has propulsion systems in space)

• Space System Engineer @ ARCA Dynamics (Italy)

  👉 Still open and still cool. Go!!! 

And a lot more. Don’t think these are the only cool roles around.

🔧 Career Spotlight: The hands-on reality of rocketry

We hear a lot from design and propulsion engineers, but what about the people who actually build the engines?

This week, we interviewed Apurva Kawthalkar, a Propulsion AIT Technician. He breaks down the reality of Assembly, Integration, and Testing, where "common sense" is a hard skill and you spend more time with torque wrenches than spreadsheets.

We talked about:

• Why you don't necessarily need a degree to work on rockets (crazy!!!)

• The difference between designing an engine and actually putting it together

• The pressure of a test campaign when things go wrong

If you prefer working with your hands over sitting at a desk, this is a must-read.

» Read the full interview with Apurva «

And of course connect with Apurva on LinkedIn and reach out if you have any questions!

🗞️ News: no launch this week

1. Isar Aerospace postpones its second launch

It’s pretty recent (and unfortunate) but Isar Aerospace has postponed its second Spectrum launch due to what seems to be a valve issue. The rocket and payloads are safe but there’s no official, updated launch date.

2. SWISSto12 gets $117M

In case you missed it, the Swiss manufacturer secured ~$117M (a mix of ESA funding and private equity) to industrialise their HummingSat platform. Unlike massive GEO satellites that cost hundreds of millions and take years to build, HummingSat is small (one tenth the size), 3D-printed and cheaper. They already have orders from Viasat and Inmarsat. This funding is basically the "green light" to mass produce them.

3. EUMETSAT gets its constellation

It flew under the radar (at least to me), but EUMETSAT’s member states just fully approved the EPS-Sterna program. This is a fleet of small satellites for polar weather monitoring. It’s a pretty big win for companies like OHB and Thales (who usually build these) and secures long-term engineering work for them.

4. Artemis II: aiming for Feb 6th

We said it last week but it’s worth repeating it: we are extremely close to see people go around the Moon and come back to Earth. It’s honestly crazy to think about this.

NASA is still targeting a launch between 6th and 11th of february for the Artemis II mission. That is roughly two weeks away. The SLS rocket is at the pad. And, of course, the European Service Module is ready. If this flies, it will be the first time a European spacecraft powers humans around the Moon.

That’s all for this week. Let’s hope Isar announces a new launch date soon!

Until next week!

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