Navigating the space sector often conjures images of scientists and engineers at work. However, the industry also heavily relies on a diverse array of non-technical professionals to reach its goals. The space sector extends far beyond just rockets and missions. Legal teams, marketing professionals, financial experts, and many others contribute extensively to its success. Each of these non-tech roles plays an integral part in both the preparation and execution of space initiatives, from regulatory compliance to effective communication strategies. This quick guide intends to shed light on these vital yet often overlooked roles in the space sector per category. Using examples from WeWorkInSpace, our goal is to help you explore potential careers and understand that the space industry offers opportunities for all!

Policy & Law: Space is not just the final frontier for exploration but also for jurisprudence. Legal experts in the space sector grapple with questions that are as vast and complex as space itself. From drafting international treaties on lunar mining to settling disputes over satellite placements, space lawyers ensure our celestial endeavours abide by a framework of fairness and cooperation. For instance, the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, was sculpted by legal minds working in harmony with diplomats and space experts.

Marketing & Communication: The wonders of space, while fascinating, are often technical and complex. Enter the realm of marketing and communication professionals. They are the storytellers, translating intricate space missions into riveting tales for the world to consume. When SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launched with a Tesla onboard, it wasn’t just an engineering feat but maybe also a marketing masterstroke, capturing imaginations worldwide. The successful communication of space missions, like the Mars Rover landings or satellite launches, also falls under their purview, making the seemingly distant universe a touch more relatable.

Business Development & Sales: Space is not merely a domain of exploration but also an emerging market teeming with opportunities. Business development experts scan this horizon, identifying collaboration potentials, fostering alliances, and ensuring the financial viability of space missions. Consider the collaborations between NASA and private entities like SpaceX for cargo deliveries to the International Space Station or partnerships like that between satellite companies and telecommunication giants. These synergies, often driven by business development professionals, are what make many space missions feasible.

HR: As with any industry, the space sector thrives on its people. Human Resource professionals ensure that the right talent is onboarded, nurtured, and retained. They sculpt the work culture, ensuring a harmonious blend of tech and non-tech professionals. For instance, the teams that collaborated on the James Webb Space Telescope or the Mars Perseverance Rover consisted of diverse talents, from engineers to public relations experts, all orchestrated and managed by HR professionals.

Health & Medical: Space, while mesmerizing, is a hostile environment. Health and medical experts in the space sector are tasked with ensuring astronaut health during human space missions, studying the physiological effects of long-term space travel, and even researching space medicine. For example, when astronauts aboard the International Space Station face medical challenges, it’s the culmination of decades of space medical research that offers solutions.

Design: Beyond the black and white of technical schematics lies the colourful world of design. Whether it’s designing user-friendly interfaces for satellite monitoring, creating compelling infographics for space missions, or even the logos that become synonymous with iconic space projects, designers play a crucial role. Remember the iconic “worm” logo of NASA? That’s the handiwork of skilled designers, marrying aesthetics with a sense of purpose. Not just with the visual designs that we remember, designers also help teams in shaping their products by guiding them through customer journeys and other collaboration tools.  

Finance: Financial experts in the space sector ensure that dreams are matched with monetary means. They handle budgets, investments, and risk assessments, ensuring projects like the James Webb Space Telescope or satellite constellations don’t just start but see completion. The financial feasibility of ventures, from space tourism to asteroid mining, hinges on their expertise.

As this guide will never be complete in an evolving industry, let this quick guide be a starting point, as you venture into the vast possibilities of the space industry. Next stop: use tools like weworkinspace.com to find your (next) step in the industry or be inspired by the people already doing non-tech space work. When you chart your path in this arena, remember that your unique skills, experiences, and passions have a distinct place here. The industry’s success lies in its multidisciplinary approach, and you, irrespective of your background, can be an integral part of this!

This is a shortened version of a weworkinspace.com publication. September 2023.