Emerging job opportunities in aerospace and the future of space exploration in India
1. SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURINGSatellites are fundamental to communication, navigation, and Earth observation. Career opportunities range from payload engineers and system designers to satellite assembly specialists. Startups like Dhruva Space and Pixxel are pioneering private satellite missions in India, hiring for roles in systems engineering, software development, and RF communications.2. LAUNCH VEHICLE DEVELOPMENTThe success of private rockets like Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-S and Agnikul Cosmos' 3D-printed Agnibaan has opened the field to new-age propulsion engineers, structural designers, avionics specialists, and more. These roles demand expertise in fluid dynamics, materials science, GNC systems, and cryogenics.3. SPACE R&D AND EXPLORATIONBeyond hardware, research opportunities abound in astrophysics, space medicine, AI for space applications, and materials science. Organizations like ISRO's PRL and VSSC, as well as institutes like IIA and IIST, are nurturing talent in areas related to planetary exploration and deep-space missions.advertisement4. EARTH OBSERVATION AND REMOTE SENSINGCareers in this field combine data analytics and environmental science. Positions include GIS analysts, remote sensing engineers, and satellite data scientists. Skills in geospatial software, image processing, and machine learning are increasingly sought after by companies like Pixxel and Kawa Space.5. SPACE LAW AND POLICYAs private participation grows, legal and regulatory expertise is in demand. Careers include policy analysts, compliance officers, and legal advisors dealing with space treaties, licensing, and debris management. Institutions like NALSAR and regulatory bodies like IN-SPACe are shaping the next generation of space law professionals.6. PRIVATE SECTOR AND STARTUPSStartups now need not just engineers, but also business developers, product managers, marketing strategists, and UI/UX designers. Roles in operations, fundraising, and customer outreach are crucial for companies like Skyroot, Agnikul, Dhruva, and Pixxel to scale.GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AND EDUCATION PATHWAYSTo sustain this momentum, the Indian government has launched initiatives like ISRO's YUVIKA program for school students, space internships, and the RESPOND program for academic collaborations. Funding support via IN-SPACe includes technology development and venture capital funds, encouraging entrepreneurship among engineers and researchers.Education is equally vital. Aspirants can pursue degrees in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electronics Engineering, Physics, AI/ML, or even Space Law. Institutions like IIST offer direct pathways to ISRO roles, while online platforms such as NPTEL and ISRO-IIRS provide certified space-related courses accessible to all.advertisementIn addition to technical skills—CAD, MATLAB, C++, GIS tools—interdisciplinary and soft skills like communication, teamwork, and systems thinking are essential for thriving in cross-functional aerospace teams.THE FUTURE IS NOWAs India gears up for ambitious missions like Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-4, and a space station by 2030, the country's space journey is poised for global impact. The rise of private players, international collaborations, and a growing talent pipeline indicate that the final frontier is now a legitimate career destination for Indian youth.Whether you're passionate about rocket engines, satellite data, or shaping space law—this is the moment to prepare, participate, and launch your journey into the stars. With the right skills and mindset, your space career could help define India's next leap beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Axiom-4 learnings will help train for Gaganyaan: ISRO chief
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has prepared a 4,000-page document detailing the experience of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on the Axiom-4 mission, the training that he and fellow astronaut Prashant B Nair underwent, and the learnings of the ISRO team present in the US through the mission. ISRO chairman V Narayanan said these learnings would be applied for training astronauts for India's Gaganyaan programme. They (the two astronauts) have gained a lot of confidence working with a very experienced team (SpaceX, NASA and Axiom). The entire training programme, going to space and coming back, the docking process, the microgravity environment that the bodies faced, everything has been documented. This will be very useful for our own astronauts, the current batch and subsequent ones,' said Narayanan. But the run-up to the mission was not all that smooth. Narayanan recounted the incident of a leakage in the rocket ahead of the launch, which the ISRO team insisted on being repaired. '…Probably, they thought that it was a minor leakage… When it came in the press, the first question asked was where the leak was. To our surprise, they could not find the location of the leak. We were shocked,' Narayanan said. He said that when the Axiom team was asked about the leak rate, they said it was confidential. 'We were not comfortable. If it is a case of just a small hole it is not a problem, but if it is a crack that cannot be allowed. So, we insisted on a complete correction and they had to call off the launch… When they located it, it was a crack in the fuel line. During the test, the leak was increasing, the data is with us. If it (the rocket) lifts-off with a crack, what will happen is that with vibrations, it will give way. Then it will be a catastrophic situation,' he said. Talking about his experience in space, Shukla said that despite all the training, when the rockets finally took off, it felt very different. He said everything was a surprise in space, the biggest of which was utilising space in 3D. 'You walk on the floor and sit on the seats. In space you can crawl on ceiling or the walls. This was a very unique experience. Initially, I gave things to people to hold, although I knew nothing would fall; it was a habit,' he said. He also spoke about sleeping in space through 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. He said GMT timing was followed on the space station and the windows were shuttered down when one had to sleep. 'But it was so beautiful, I always wanted to sit by the window,' said Shukla. He said there was a craving for more Indian foods in space. 'That's what you really miss. You don't really feel hungry… the food feels bland. I am very particular about my food, but when I came back I told my wife I will eat whatever you make. She said finally it took me going to space for it.' Shukla also spoke about his first view of the Earth. 'It was a night pass… The darkness of the sea first and then the country completely lit up. There is no other place I would feel emotional about. I have seen India several times since, but that first view left its mark,' he said. Prashanth Nair, who was on the standby for the Axiom-4 mission, was asked whether he felt having missed out on this trip. He said the Air Force had taught him the importance of being a good wingman, and compared himself to being a 'Laxman to Shukla's Ram'. 'It feels like Diwali today, and all our countrymen are here to receive us,' Nair said. He said the actual experience is very different from training. 'Even if you write a PhD on the smell of roses, a person who has never smelled a rose will not know what it means after reading it entirely. Until you go to space you would not know what it means.'
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
First uncrewed Gaganyaan mission launch likely in December: Isro chief
Photo/Agencies NEW DELHI The first uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme is ready to launch with a robot and the liftoff is expected in December, said Isro chairman V Narayanan here on Thursday. 'The first uncrewed mission, G1, is going to lift off by this year's end, maybe close to December. And in that, the Vyommitra, the half-humanoid, is going to fly,' Narayanan said. Addressing the media in the presence of space minister Jitendra Singh and astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the Isro chief lauded Shux for his successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS) — the first ever by an Indian. His experience of piloting the Axiom-4 mission is set to be crucial for the Gaganyaan mission . Narayanan said SpaceX had probably taken 'lightly' the liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket that launched the Axiom-4 mission to the ISS, putting at risk the lives of the four astronauts, including Shukla. 'If with a crack the rocket lifts off, with the vibrations, it will give way the moment it lifts off. Once it gives way, it will be a catastrophic situation, nothing else," he said. Shux, who achieved the ISS feat on June 26, called it the 'mission of an entire nation'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'I would like to thank every citizen of this country who behaved in a way that made it feel like they actually owned this mission. I truly felt that this was a mission for the entire nation,' he said. Shukla said being on the space station 'is very different from what you learn on the ground. It was an unbelievable experience'. 'We have been able to achieve all our technical objectives,' he said. "We had seven different experiments to conduct, ranging from stem cell research to growing sprouts on the space station. Some of them started showing results while we were there. The results were very encouraging'. 'Crew Dragon is one of the three vehicles that can currently take humans to space. We were also fortunate to have training on the Soyuz, which launches from Russia, besides Crew Dragon. The ISS, as you know, is an orbiting laboratory that has been operational since 2000. It has been conducting cutting-edge science and is a perfect example of international collaboration,' he added. Narayanan said Isro has had a lot of accomplishments in the last four months. 'The entire Isro programme is the result of teamwork of 20,000 employees, 450 industrial partners and 300 academia partners. Today, we also have the Gaganyatris for our programmes'. Mentioning various Isro programmes, he said, "There is telemedicine, tele-education, television broadcasting, and real-time connectivity for around 8,600 trains and 21,000 shipping vessels'. 'A total of 13 out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are being supported by Isro,' the Isro chairman said, while also listing the space agency's other achievements like the Aditya L1 Sun mission and the NISAR mission. 'We have made a major breakthrough in cryogenic engine technology. The tests are going very well, and a lot of indigenisation activities are progressing well. Coming to the Aditya L1, this year we have released 13 terabit data,' he said. 'In two to three months, we are also going to launch a 6,500-kg communication satellite of the US, on our launch vehicle. To date, 433 satellites of 34 countries have been launched from India," Narayanan said.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Soon, someone from our soil would travel to space'
India still looks 'saare jahaan se achcha' (better than the entire world) from space even today, astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said on Thursday as he described his recent Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station, even as the Isro chief revealed critical events in the run-up to the mission, which included a potentially catastrophic fuel leak in SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket. Defence minister Rajnath Singh meets Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who was the pilot of Axiom-4 Space Mission to the International Space Station (ISS), in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo) The leak was only detected and fixed because Isro refused vague assurances and demanded full transparency, Isro chief V Narayanan said. 'Isro's probing forced the company to call off the launch just hours before liftoff. What was later found was no ordinary leak — it was a dangerous crack in the fuel line that could have caused a catastrophic failure mid-flight,' he said. Narayanan and Shukla were speaking alongside Union minister Jitendra Singh and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair at a press conference held at the National Media Centre. The upcoming Gaganyaan mission was also spoken about, with the Isro chief announcing that the mission could be launched by December this year. Shukla too said that India will 'very soon' send a person to space from its own rocket and soil, as part of the Gaganyaan mission. The Isro chief announced that the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, G1, 'is going to be lifted off this year-end, maybe close to December.' 'And in that, Vyommitra, a half-humanoid, is going to fly,' he said. Union minister Singh said that India's space programme is now operating on global parameters. 'Now, our benchmarks are global benchmarks, our strategies are global, and the parameters that we are seeking to live up to are global,' he said. The Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate India's ability to send humans into low Earth orbit and return them safely. The mission is seen as a step toward establishing a national space station and India's plan for a lunar landing by 2040. 'All the information I have collected in the past year will be extremely useful to us for our own missions — Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station. Very soon, we shall send someone from our capsule, from our rocket and our soil,' said Shukla. On the fuel leak, Narayanan said Isro had asked SpaceX for test results after suspicious oxygen sensor data appeared, but the answers were evasive. 'They told us committees have cleared it. Probably they thought it's a minor leakage. But when we asked where the leak was, they said they couldn't find it. When we asked the leak rate, they said it's confidential. Out of 14 questions, only 2 were answered,' he said. Unconvinced, Isro insisted on corrective action, and the pressure worked. SpaceX was forced to scrub the launch on November 11 at 5.15 pm. When engineers finally investigated, they found the crack. 'If the rocket gave way, it was a catastrophe situation, nothing else,' Narayanan said. 'ISS mission perfect example of international collaboration' At the press conference, Shukla described his last venture to space. 'No matter how much training you have done, even after that, when you sit in the rocket and the engines ignite, when they catch fire, I think it is a very different feeling,' he told the audience in the auditorium which was packed to the brim. Outside the building, people gathered on roads, hoping to catch a glimpse of the astronaut. 'We flew on top of the Falcon 9 vehicle in the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station for a period of two weeks and then returned. The launch was from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and recovery was off the coast of San Diego in the Pacific Ocean. Crew Dragon is one of the three vehicles that can currently take humans to space,' he said. 'I had not imagined how it would feel, and I was actually running behind the rocket for the first few seconds, and it took me some time to catch up to it. From that moment until the time we splashed down, the experience was unbelievable. It was so exciting and so amazing that I have really been struggling to find words to convey it to you, so that you can live that experience through my words,' he added. The International Space Station was 'a perfect example of international collaboration' and said the knowledge from human spaceflight would be valuable for Gaganyaan. 'Witnessing and executing human spaceflight offers knowledge and information that goes much beyond and deeper—it's very valuable for our Gaganyaan mission,' he said. Shukla also thanked the government, Isro, and the people of the country for the support as he dedicated the success to the nation. 'I truly felt that this was a mission for the entire nation.' Nair, who is also part of the Gaganyaan crew, said, 'A few months from now, we are going to have Diwali. That is the time when Ram ji entered Ayodhya. Over here right now, if I can call myself Lakshman... even though I am older than 'Shuks' (Shukla), I would love to be Lakshman to this Ram any day. But let's remember Ram and Lakshman got a lot of help from the entire 'vanar sena', that is our fantastic Isro team... otherwise it would not have been possible.'
