If t/Space reactivates with a NASA contract I think they could surprisingly quickly be on their way to Luna. Not entirely sure they would need people though.

However (and I don’t know this for sure nor any details) as a foreigner getting to work in this field in the US might not be all that easy, perhaps impossible. Considering the whole situation with ITAR when it comes to US companies and US technology it would be strange if it wasn’t a significant challenge to get to work on the very same technologies inside the US as a foreigner.

CNSA has plenty of important experience to build up in LEO and has no official plans (or any overly likely capabilities) for manned operations beyond LEO for the next decades (which is extremely sensible; solid foundations are required –in a way NASA is doing just the same now but on the next level, overdue since they tried to skip it). ESA isn’t even as far as CNSA and ESA hasn’t really been all that eager on manned spaceflight (yet, could change and seems to slowly be changing, would likely change fast if Skylon –see below*– works out) and will have to do the same as CNSA if they want to be independent (and thus also able to contribute more significantly to any partners).

Of course with an empowered US space business the path will eventually open up for both CNSA and ESA and anyone else to act smart and buy their services as customers and instead themselves focus on utilizing space for new additional capabilities and knowledge.

* Of course there’s always the possibility of Reaction Engines Ltd. and their Skylon taking off big time but I don’t think they need more people, only time and success.

All that aside if you are trying to enter from the top while also forecasting the future then that seems impossibly difficult and you might want to reconsider that approach, maybe instead do like Musk and Bigelow (and Bezos (Blue Origin), and Carmack (Armadillo Aerospace), and Masten (Masten Space Systems)) and do it the other way around by becoming adequately self-funded?

Either way best of luck.

I am looking for a place where there are or will be projects going beyond the low earth orbit for sustained development, and wonder which organization will achieve that first. NewSpace companies are indeed exciting to provide cheaper mass access to LEO, but I doubt how soon they can open up the market beyond LEO, if they ever in my lifetime. It still seems to me to bring a moon base or other pioneering space projects, the governments still need to do them first. So where should I go?

Now, the President has said that NASA astronauts should be tickets on commercial transports. Sounds good to me. A local guy who made his money on video games spent a couple of weeks on the ISS for less that what NASA would have spent on fuel to launch him to the same destination. You can buy a ticket to orbit right now. Why not use NASA to do the research to help US business offer the same ticket for a lower price? Makes sense to me. There is a private US company, Bigelow Aerospace, that has already tested an inflatable space habitat in orbit. The habitat is built on top of technology that NASA abandoned and was launched on a Russion launcher. NASA can help private space companies by moving into the role that NACA had back before they renamed it NASA.

Many of us have been hoping for this change for decades. I for one salute President Obama for this wise and courages decision.

Ol’Bob

Ok the rest of this comment is long and I want to apologize for it.

Boris at #136 if you’re an American citizen with some solid skills in rocketry or engineering (maybe not necessarily with papers, the people you approach will soon be able to tell you if you’ve got what they want and would likely offer possible advice and suggestions if you don’t –but don’t run down their doors and don’t take anything for granted as they’re all very busy ^_^) or at least a strong heart and willingness to learn you should without any doubt go to one or several of the many US NewSpace firm like the one run by Dave Masten (that would be Masten Space Systems, NASA Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge winner, 2nd place in both levels if I remember correctly but very close calls with Armadillo Aerospace winning first in both). The same Dave Masten that tirelessly tries to inform a lot of substantially underinformed or misinformed people here and elsewhere. Unless they pay a lot of attention they’re excused by the way and of course people simply disagree at times no matter how informed or not.

Of course Masten Space Systems does not hide that they’re currently in the fairly early stages working their way upwards slowly and carefully to suborbital (although orbital is their eventual goal and they will get there) with their VTVL RLV vehicles (just like Armadillo Aerospace and other less known people) and they’re not involved in the current brouhaha as a business except perhaps as an excellent example of US entrepreneurial guts and solid engineering. It’s still pretty much early days for suborbital NewSpace (but those early days also mean that it’s sometimes easier to join). Btw some people work many hours for free, sometimes entirely for free, at this stage it sometimes looks more like a lifestyle than a job (I’m saying this as an outsider on a different continent so have a decent quantity of salt available ^_^ however I try to follow it all as closely as possible, time permitting).

Did I say I’m biased towards what MSS and the rest of NewSpace (mostly located in the US) and their supporters are doing ? You bet I am ^_^

Of course if you’re aiming for orbital right now you might want to have a talk with SpaceX which is the (still I think) most popular company to apply to among newly educated rocket scientists according to Dr. David Livingstone (host of the radio and internet broadcast The Space Show), I occasionally disagree with the good Dr. on this or that detail but on this I’m 100% confident he’s right (any error is my own and I might be outdated by a year or two on this specific issue).

Or if you would be more interested in something besides launch systems there’s Bigelow Aerospace with their two inflatable modules that are currently in orbit (and more to come). They’re technology demonstrators for habitable inflatable modules, Bigelow Aerospace is looking for all sort of very highly educated people primarily (those can be hard to get) in all sorts of diverse fields of science (including medicine) and engineering but I’m sure they occasionally might need other people as well (as might the other companies) and selfmade Mr. Bigelow appears to be the kind of person who loves honest hardworking effort. Actually I think I just described everybody in NewSpace there ^_^

Quite bluntly although every human of course have their flaws and peculiarities there’s simply an amazing bunch of great individuals all across NewSpace.

There are tons and tons of other companies as well, prolonged daily reading of RLVnews.com over at HobbySpace will slowly introduce you to many of them.

And sure there is NASA, if things start going smoothly now NASA could become once again a truly great place to work. Also “OldSpace” (and particularly Lockheed Martin and ULA but it seems even Boeing might be getting into the new groove)) will also become even greater places with a more efficient sensible US space policy encouraging greater direct commercial involvement (and decision making on the engineering solutions).

If you’re outside the US sure you might want to aim at your “local” agency. The Chinese are moving very slowly but have done fairly well so far, otherwise most likely not that appealing as a work culture unless it’s your own culture and know how stuff works “socially”. ESA is kind of a nightmare but they do have good people and Ariane (world leader on commercial launches) although the cultural thing applies twice (and I say this as an European living in an ESA member nation –nobody can out-bureaucratize and out-complicate the EU, nobody ^_^). I’ve got a real good impression of JAXA in particular and also ISRO, JAXA has had teething problems and are facing budgetary issues but I think working there would still be very good (despite their rather glacial speed) even as a foreigner if you enjoy the unique strangeness of Japan (I do, a solid bit of bias there). Both ISRO and JAXA seem very open minded yet fairly realistic as organizations to me. The Russians of course have in many ways the most solid background and experience possible be it Energia or Roskosmos, Russian culture might seem strange at first but if you can accpet or even cherish a culture that in many ways have more in common with the (in my opinion fairly solid but not flawless) social values of 50ies America and you have supreme understanding of and insight into what you’re doing (not just a degree or two) you should do fine (unless you just want to work at the conveyor belt in which case you’re out of luck unless you’re Russian).

But there’s NewSpace (or closely related) activity in many places outside the US however on a much smaller scale: Switzerland, Romania, Denmark and possibly Germany (although I’m a bit unsure about the status of “pure” NewSpace there although I know a Google Lunar X-Prize team is based there and they’re active, same in Russia). New Zealand is also somewhat on the map. And depending on whether something like the N-Prize might appeal to you the scope widens to many other parts of the world.

Happy hunting? ^_^

Our manned space program has met the enemy and it is us. Just imagine if we had just a small percentage of the tax dollars wasted on the two wars that we have waged during this past decade dedicated to building a HLV & a manned command capsule or craft. We could have built the foundation of the von Braun/Roddenberry vision for humanity’s future in space but we have sold that dream for short-term selfish interests and by our reaction to baseless fear mongering by our politicians pushing an agenda that drained our treasury and moral leadership. Karma is a female dog with puppies.

I give President Obama credit for trying to change the culture of using NASA as a shiny toy where we have been promised the moon but somehow that outcome never materialized. If consistent funding is put into a HLV then we can build a workable infrastructure to get humans past LEO & out doing exploration & exploitation of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc.

Can somebody tell me if I want to work in the forefront of opening up the Moon and/or Mars for human’s settlement and development in my lifetime, where should I go to (Chinese space agency, European space agency, US private space companies, NASA)?

I understand this involves a lot of concerns, like the prediction of which organization will go faster, political will, future economy, etc. I am amazed so many people responded here, and that so many are enthusiastic about space, though we may feel there’s nothing we can do for it. So I am trying to gather lots of opinions here for my direction, thanks.

http://xkcd.com/695/

Awwwww….

Just a thought. I figure, the more people that write in, talk to a government official, and make a stance that says “Hey! I really do want this!” The better off we will all be.

Just as important, the second and third Falcon 1 launches failed due to problems which engineers recognized and solved in the 1950s and 60s — POGO and residual first stage thrust. I’m greatly concerned that neither Space-X or any other of the “commercial space pioneers” has the institutional expertise to avoid mistakes already made in trying to launch larger vehicles.

(FYI, I’m neither T.U.T. nor T_U-T!)

I hope there are enough voters to keep NASA afloat, and enough oversight to get us to the moon. Aside from the obvious vantage point the moon will offer to future further exploration, the moon is an integral part of us all. I’d hate to see a private company sell shares to her exploitation.

BTW the chatter over here is that the real reason Obama has killed off the Moon mission is because it would prove the Americans never went there in the first place. I think they missed the pictures from the LRO.

That is the fundamental difference between human exploration and robotic exploration. When done by humans it’s (usually!) done faster, smarter, and more adaptably.

Sure there are risks involved in space exploration, but I could fill up one hundred Mars expeditions full of people right now, even if they were certain that there was only a 20% chance of their safe return.
Humans are pre-programmed to explore, to take risks, and without the chance to do so, we will stagnate on our own planet, and devolve into a race of navel-gazing slugs…

Look upwards, and out into eternity, not inwards.

If you’re not ignoring them, then you need to take responsibility for your share of the problem.

You’re right. Henceforth I will ignore at least one troll.

Cambell@138, you tipped your hand when you said “climate hoax”.

Steve A@121, yeah, you’re right about Obama not canceling STS. I meant that WITH STS going away, canceling Constellation, even with it’s warts, gives us NOTHING, since Obama is suggesting no rational alternative program. And it surprises me to hear the good Doctor applauding that.