Space Employment and Space Investments

Space employment and space investment are both on the rise. Here are some of the top stories from The Journal of Space Commerce this week.

The Space Report 2025 Q1, which shows space sector employment growth outpacing U.S. private sector growth, has been released by The Space Foundation. In the last decade, overall private sector employment increased 14.3%, while space sector employment increased 27%. Five-year growth for the industry has been even more significant, with employment increasing 18% from 2019 to 2024.

And these are good, high-paying jobs. The most recent year salary data, from 2023, shows the average private U.S. space industry salary was $135,000, a 3.1% increase over 2022 and nearly double the average private sector wage in the United States.

As the launch cadence increases globally, space companies are inundated with more data and an increased need to diversify their workforce — creating a growing demand for applicants with skills in computer science and data analysis.

The report also shows that the FAA licensed 157 commercial spaceflights in 2024 and estimates as many as 172 in 2025.

Next week on The Ex Terra Podcast, we'll talk at length about preparing the next generation of space workers with Dr. Don Platt, director of The Spaceport Education Center at the Florida Institute of Technology.

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Another report released this week ... this one from Space Capital ... shows the first quarter of 2025 was marked by a total investment of $4.3 billion

According to the Q1 2025 Space Investment Quarterly report, investments during the period in 104 companies brought the cumulative private market equity investment to $347.9 billion since 2009.

The report also identifies industry trends that could have several significant implications for the space economy and related industries.

Among those trends is an increase in competition for SpaceX for orbital launch contracts. Chad Anderson, Managing Partner of Space Capital, said in a YouTube video presentation about the report that competitors like Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and Stoke Space are likely to drive innovation and reduce costs in the launch market. This increased competition can lead to more frequent and affordable access to space, benefiting a wide range of industries reliant on satellite deployment and space-based services, according to the report.

"The company has really enjoyed a decade of very limited competition, but alternatives are finally starting to emerge. In January, Jeff Bezo's Blue Origin successfully reached orbit with their New Glenn vehicle. It is now halfway to being certified for national security missions. It is teed up for some of this national security money. Rocket Lab and Stoke Space were also selected to compete, alongside SpaceX, Blue Origin and ULA for National Security space launch contracts. These are billions of dollars, and more and more companies are entering that pool and competing for those dollars."

Other trends to watch, according to the report, are geopolitical shifts, including rising tensions between the U.S. and China; technological advances in geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) and AI-driven technologies that are unlocking new capabilities in mapping, spatial intelligence, and precision positioning; and market consolidation and acquisitions.

Anderson said that a recession would be particularly challenging to the space economy, and in particular for startups.

"It's been a few very difficult years for fundraising in the financial markets for startups," Anderson said. "And so a recession at this point in time would be very difficult for a lot of companies. Government contracts could shrink, or there could be delays, which