2013
2013 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Employment
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) employed ## individuals in 2013. This is a decrease of less than ##% from 2012. Over the past 10 years, JAXA has declined steadily, shedding ## workers since 2003—nearly ##% of its workforce. JAXA has a relatively healthy workforce age profile; ##% of its workforce is over 54 and ##% is under 35.
2013 – Japanese Space Industry Employment
In 2012, there were ## individuals working in the Japanese space industry. This was an increase of ##% from 2011, adding ## people. At least some of this increase was due to an increase in the number of companies participating in the survey, which rose from ## in 2011 to ## in 2012. This addition continues a growth trend that began after a low point in 2008.
2013 – European Space Agency Employment
The European Space Agency (ESA) has a staff of ## employees. About half of these individuals work as engineers, scientists, or astronauts. Women make up about a quarter of ESA employees, but only ##% of science and engineering personnel. ESA has a particularly low portion of young professionals—just ##% of ESA employees are under 35.
2013 – European Space Industry Employment
Space employment in Europe has increased for the seventh year in a row, adding about ## employees from 2011 to 2012, an increase of ##%. European space employment is ##% greater than its 10-year low in 2005. Unlike the data for the U.S. space workforce, which is estimated using nationally collected data not specifically designed to capture the space industry, data on the European space workforce has been collected via a targeted survey of European space companies carried out by a not-for-profit organization, Eurospace. In carrying out this survey, Eurospace focuses on manufacturing activities and measuring end-market value.
2013 – U.S. National Security Workforce
Space activities are supported throughout many areas of the U.S. military, and thousands of members of the military are considered part of the space cadre. However, the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012 repealed the requirement for the military to track and report to Congress the number of space personnel within the Department of Defense.
2013 – NASA Workforce
In 2012, NASA was ranked the best place to work in the federal government based on a survey of civil servants across federal agencies conducted by the non-profit Partnership for Public Service. In its annual survey of federal employees, the United States Office of Personnel Management found that NASA was a top performer across all four of their primary indices: leadership and knowledge management, results-oriented culture, talent management, and job satisfaction, and it was the highest-scoring agency in terms of job satisfaction.
2013 – U.S. Space Industry Employment
Understanding the current size and historical shifts in the U.S. space workforce is a complex task. Occasionally, organizations will conduct reviews of the space workforce, providing a snapshot of the industry at one point in time. For example, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Space Industry Deep Dive Assessment, released in 2013, estimated that in 2012 there were nearly ## full time employees involved with current U.S. government space programs.
2013 – Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) Space Activities
Another MSS industry leader is Iridium, which operates a LEO constellation of ## active satellites to provide global coverage. The Iridium constellation uses intersatellite links to route network traffic directly between spacecraft, avoiding the need for multiple hops between space and ground to relay signals around the world. Like Inmarsat, Iridium is significantly upgrading its network to reach new customer bases with new technology.
2013 – MSS Satellite Design Activities
The original and still-dominant MSS operator, Inmarsat, uses a fleet of nine GEO satellites to provide mobile services to land, maritime, and aviation customers. Since its founding in 1979, Inmarsat’s core business had always been voice and low-rate data transmissions to maritime customers.[efn… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to Global…
2013 – Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) Satellite Design Activities
Over the past few years, several companies have deployed new satellites designed to use the relatively less crowded Ka-band set of frequencies to support delivery of space-based internet broadband. Operators such as Eutelsat, Avanti Communications in the United Kingdom, and ViaSat in the United… Thank you for visiting The Space Report! The Authoritative Guide to…