<\/p>\n
A power electronics engineer works on a circuit board at CesiumAstro in Austin on Oct. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
CesiumAstro needs another 500 people<\/a> to build communication satellites in Central Texas.<\/p>\n The company launched its first operational satellite this month and is preparing to build hundreds more at its headquarters outside of Austin. Finding and training people to work there is among the company\u2019s top priorities, said\u00a0Shey Sabripour, founder and CEO of CesiumAstro.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest lessons I\u2019ve learned as we scale\u00a0CesiumAstro isn\u2019t about technology, manufacturing or even fundraising. It\u2019s talent,\u201d Sabripour said in a statement. \u201cRaising capital is challenging, but finding and developing the workforce required to support the next generation of space innovation is even harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The U.S. space economy could add 300,000 high-paying jobs over the next decade and generate $428 billion in economic value, according to a report<\/a> from the Space Workforce Incubator for Texas, or SWIFT.<\/p>\n SPACE ACADEMY:\u00a0Trump announces U.S. Space Academy to train future NASA workforce during trip to Houston<\/a><\/p>\n CesiumAstro employees, including Alex Tucker on the left and Marian Shaffer on the bottom right, are seen working on various tasks. The company put its first operational satellite into space this month.<\/p>\n Left and Bottom Right: Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman; Top Right: CesiumAstro<\/p>\n CesiumAstro employees, including Alex Tucker on the left and Marian Shaffer on the bottom right, are seen working on various tasks. The company put its first operational satellite into space this month.<\/p>\n Left and Bottom Right: Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman; Top Right: CesiumAstro<\/p>\n This need for workers is already being felt across Texas as NASA pushes toward the moon and the commercial sector \u2013 benefitting from cheaper rocket launches and advanced technologies \u2013 launches more hardware into space.<\/p>\n Community colleges, universities, Texas\u2019 Congressional delegation and the Texas Space Commission are racing to create a workforce that will ensure the state\u2019s space legacy continues.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Space companies struggle to forecast how many workers they\u2019ll need. High school students don\u2019t have a clear path to becoming an industry\u00a0tradesperson as there aren\u2019t national certifications. Hiring can fluctuate, leaving community colleges unable to have year-round cohorts of students, and workers are being courted by other fast-growing sectors, such as semiconductor and advanced manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an industry, we are just racing to get to the next thing,\u201d said Elaine Ho, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Office of STEM Engagement. \u201cWe are focused on the mission, on the next requirement, on the next deliverable, and workforce tends to be that secondary thought.\u201d<\/p>\n To address this, NASA is helping the Texas Space Commission create an online platform for jobs that don\u2019t require a bachelor\u2019s degree. Several universities have beefed up their engineering programs. And Texas\u2019 congressional delegation is pushing to become home to the U.S. Space Academy<\/a>, which will be similar to military academies but led by NASA to mainly train civilians.<\/p>\n CesiumAstro has an internship program, and Sabripour said he\u2019s focused on recruiting talent at every level. It currently has more than 850 employees.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t just a\u00a0CesiumAstro challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an industry-wide opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Space cowboys<\/p>\n Skilled technical workers \u2013 people without a college degree who are trained in welding, electronics and other trades \u2013 are becoming increasingly important as companies like\u00a0CesiumAstro move from research and development into production, said Leon Vanstone, vice president of SWIFT.<\/p>\n Last year, SWIFT found that 47% of the nation\u2019s entry-level space job openings required only a high school diploma<\/a>. One-third of the jobs sought a technical certificate or standard for positions that included welders, machinists and crane operators.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of the economic value created by the space economy over the next decade will not come from people who design rockets,\u201d the organization stated in a new report shared first with the Houston Chronicle<\/a>. \u201cIt will come from the people who build them, at scale, on schedule, day after day. That workforce is the space cowboy.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n SWIFT is analyzing thousands of job listings to build a profile for each type of job, including descriptions of the positions and the experience, education and certifications that employers ask for,\u00a0Vanstone said. SWIFT is using this information to help high schools and community colleges build curricula around what employers actually need.<\/p>\n SKILLED WORKERS: Texas needs \u2018space cowboys\u2019 and statewide talent pipeline to become a hub for space companies<\/a><\/p>\n Yaohui Lu, a professor of engineering technology, and\u00a0Arnad Roy, an aerospace instructor, work with San Jacinto College Engineering Tech students during a composites lesson at the EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport in Houston on Oct. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle San Jacinto College Engineering Tech students learn about composite materials and the process used to manufacture composite components for aerospace and space hardware at the college\u2019s EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport in Houston on Oct. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle San Jacinto College Engineering Tech students learn about composite materials and the process used to manufacture composite components for aerospace and space hardware at the college\u2019s EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport in Houston on Oct. 6, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n In Houston, San Jacinto College began its aerospace programs at the Houston Spaceport after the region lost a rocket engine manufacturing deal<\/a> in 2017. It also designs and provides specialized training for local businesses, said Sallie Kay Janes, associate vice chancellor of continuing and professional development at San Jacinto College.<\/p>\n When these companies have an opening,\u00a0Janes said, it gets filled quickly. But the businesses are focused on a handful of large structures rather than mass production. San Jacinto College is starting to look at the industry’s suppliers for additional places where students could find jobs. Because right now, there isn\u2019t enough work to have large cohorts of students year round.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hiring from these companies can also fluctuate based on NASA\u2019s budget and contracts. \u201cThe demand on the aerospace side has its ebbs and flows,\u201d\u00a0Janes said. \u201cWhen they get a contract, one company may send us quite a few.\u201d<\/p>\n SWIFT believes it\u2019s time for schools to become picky about their students \u2013 and for companies to know where they can recruit the best talent,\u00a0Vanstone said. The nonprofit is using its job profiles to create a nationwide ranking system.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single community college in this country cannot start a titanium orbital tube welding program because the whole country maybe only needs 100 of them a year,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to find your centers of excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018More than just a jobs.com\u2019<\/p>\n The Texas Space Commission is creating an online platform for space jobs that don\u2019t require a bachelor\u2019s degree. This platform, funded by $1.5 million from NASA, will connect job seekers to companies and walk them through the training and certification required for certain positions.<\/p>\n It should be available in the Houston area next year and then later expanded across the state.<\/p>\n Norman\u00a0Garza Jr., executive director of the Texas Space Commission, compared the platform to shopping for a car online \u2013 which he said is currently easier than learning how to become qualified for space jobs \u2013 but promised it will be \u201cmore than just a jobs.com.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhy isn’t there something as simple,\u201d\u00a0Garza said, \u201cas me saying, \u2018I live here. I want to work there. Where can I get trained? What are the programs? Who does it? How long is it going to take?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Abbott\u2019s challenge<\/p>\n After\u00a0Gov. Greg Abbott challenged schools to create a space engineering degree in 2024, Texas A&M started space engineering graduate and undergraduate programs. These are different from its aerospace engineering degrees because aerospace engineering gets people off the Earth while space engineering enables them to live there.<\/p>\n Texas Tech University added a bachelor\u2019s degree and minor in aerospace engineering this fall, and the University of Houston is developing a bachelor\u2019s degree in aerospace engineering that should be available in 2028 \u2013 complementing its current master\u2019s degree and undergraduate minor. Rice University is working to add an aerospace engineering concentration.<\/p>\n FUNDING:\u00a0Rice University wins $22.3 million to launch two new space research centers<\/a><\/p>\n SWIFT President Geoff Tudor (left) poses for a photo with the Rice University Eclipse Rocket Team and their\u00a0Archimedes II rocket in 2025 at the International Rocket Engineering Competition in Midland, Texas. The team, which was funded by SWIFT,\u00a0won first place in the 30,000-foot hybrid division.<\/p>\n SWIFT<\/p>\n At the doctoral level, UT San Antonio started an aerospace engineering\u00a0Ph.D. program this year. Its analysis found that Texas has 200 doctoral-level aerospace engineering job openings each year while state universities only graduate 40 students.<\/p>\n A doctorate was the next logical step from its aerospace engineering master\u2019s degree and undergraduate certificate, which have both had \u201cimmense student interest,\u201d said Chris Combs, associate dean of research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re in a bit of a golden age of space that we haven’t seen in a long time,\u201d Combs said. \u201cPeople want to be part of that, and there is a big job demand.\u201d<\/p>\n And as NASA becomes increasingly dependent on commercial companies, the University of Houston isn\u2019t just seeing demand for engineers. It\u2019s seeing a need for managers and business majors, too, said\u00a0Karolos Grigoriadis, chair of the University of Houston\u2019s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not just the typical notion of a rocket scientist,\u201d\u00a0Grigoriadis said. \u201cThe need is increasingly interdisciplinary.\u201d<\/p>\n A diverse talent pool is important to Blue Origin, said Summer Webb, Blue Origin\u2019s government relations director for Texas, who spoke at SWIFT\u2019s Ecosystem Space happy hour in Austin.<\/p>\n She said Blue Origin chose to build a new satellite manufacturing campus<\/a> outside of Austin partly because of the area\u2019s engineering talent from the University of Texas at Austin \u2013 which also has aerospace engineering degree programs \u2013 and from local community colleges and trade schools.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to continue to grow aerospace in Texas, you have to grow the support systems, the technicians, the engineers, the actual labor force to do it,\u201d Webb said. \u201cI would just really, really encourage you to continue to do that and focus in on the jobs, the skills and the supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n Moon and Mars<\/p>\n Universities are also opening space labs and facilities to give students hands-on experience.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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