U.S. Space Workforce

U.S. National Security Workforce


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 However, the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012 repealed the requirement for the military to track and report to Congress the number of space personnel within the Department of Defense.

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2012 – U.S. National Security Workforce

The military uses space for a wide variety of purposes, including communication, navigation, mapping, and intelligence. The military space workforce is specifically trained to be able to plan, develop, acquire, or operate defense-related space technology. The Air Force maintains the largest space workforce, with ## individuals in 2011.

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2011 – U.S. National Security Workforce – Snapshot

The BLS data characterizing the American space workforce does not include U.S. military space personnel, who constitute a dedicated “space cadre” maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Implemented by the U.S. National Security Space Office (NSSO) in 2001 to address a perceived gap in national military space readiness, the DoD space cadre is designed to be a force of highly competent professionals skilled in the operational and tactical demands of the space medium, including the technical requirements of space vehicles, ground systems, and space systems.

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2010 – U.S. National Security Workforce – Snapshot

The U.S. private-sector and civil space workforce is complemented by a group of military space professionals maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The development of a dedicated DoD “space cadre” stemmed in part from a 2001 report by the Space Commission of the U.S. National Security Space Office (NSSO) noting that the DoD was “not yet on course to develop the space cadre the nation needs.”

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2009 – U.S. National Security Workforce – Snapshot

Somewhat less transparent than U.S. private sector and civil space employment is the U.S. military space workforce. A number of nations besides the United States are developing military space capabilities, and the scope of military space theory has broadened in response to changing military doctrines, technological advances, and asymmetrical warfare.

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