Key findings
- 3
17 employers asked applicants to name their salary expectations (28.5% of forms), among them Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and K2 Space.
Figure 1
What space job applications ask
Which questions do space companies put on their application forms?
| The form asks about | Forms asking | Forms requiring an answer | Employers asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizenship or U.S. person status (export control) | 87.3% | 87.2% | 32 |
| Work authorization or visa sponsorship | 62.6% | 62.3% | 25 |
| A security clearance held or obtainable | 54.1% | 54.0% | 21 |
| Past work or interviews at the company | 50.7% | 46.7% | 6 |
| Working on site, commuting or relocating | 36.6% | 36.2% | 31 |
| Grade point average (GPA) | 31.3% | 31.3% | 6 |
| SAT, ACT or GRE scores | 29.9% | 29.9% | 2 |
| Expected pay or rate | 28.5% | 25.0% | 17 |
| Why this company, or your most impressive work | 16.5% | 6.2% | 14 |
| Availability, hours or start date | 11.4% | 11.3% | 11 |
| Degree or field of study | 10.4% | 6.6% | 20 |
| A background check, drug screen or criminal record | 10.2% | 10.2% | 3 |
| Which shifts you can work | 8.8% | 8.8% | 7 |
| Experience or years in a field | 7.8% | 7.7% | 19 |
| Past work for the U.S. government or military | 5.6% | 5.6% | 2 |
| Languages spoken or fluency | 4.5% | 4.4% | 10 |
| Relatives or friends at the company | 4.0% | 4.0% | 3 |
| Working on military or defense programs | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1 |
| Licence or certification | 0.1% | 0.1% | 3 |
Sample. 5,942 application forms of space roles open on 29 Oct 2026, at 38 employers, read from their own applicant-tracking systems (72.9% of the 8,150 open roles). 9 employers with open roles have no application form this site reads, the largest Blue Origin (1,444 roles), Boeing (139 roles) and Vantor (131 roles).
A question is read for what its label asks; one question can belong to two themes ("Are you eligible to obtain a U.S. government clearance (requires U.S. citizenship)?" asks about both).
Required: the form will not submit without an answer. A required question can still offer an answer such as "Not applicable" or "Did not take".
Forms are written by each employer, so a theme most forms ask can come from a few large employers: the employer table shows whose forms ask it.
Source. SpaceJobs.Now Research, What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores, read 29 Oct 2026.
Figure 2
Application forms, employer by employer
What does each space company's application ask?
| Employer | Fields (median) | Its own questions (median) | Citizenship or U.S. person | Security clearance | GPA | Salary expectations | Forms read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | 23 | 13 | 99.8% | 99.2% | 78.6% | 0.0% | 2,258 |
| Rocket Lab | 19 | 12 | 96.3% | 77.4% | 13.6% | 83.4% | 487 |
| Relativity Space | 14 | 4 | 99.5% | 0.3% | 2.3% | 0.0% | 384 |
| AST SpaceMobile | 21 | 8 | 3.6% | 2.8% | 0.0% | 95.3% | 253 |
| K2 Space | 17 | 8 | 98.1% | 98.1% | 0.0% | 98.1% | 213 |
| True Anomaly | 13 | 4 | 86.5% | 5.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 200 |
| Astranis | 15 | 6 | 100.0% | 34.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 184 |
| ICEYE | 11 | 4 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 174 |
| Vast | 14 | 5 | 97.1% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 174 |
| Voyager Technologies | 16 | 7 | 93.3% | 94.5% | 0.0% | 97.6% | 164 |
| Muon Space | 11 | 3 | 100.0% | 28.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 138 |
| Isar Aerospace | 15 | 7 | 88.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 88.5% | 131 |
| Apex | 12 | 3 | 100.0% | 3.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 126 |
| Varda Space Industries | 11 | 3 | 96.6% | 2.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 119 |
| Ursa Major | 16 | 7 | 100.0% | 3.4% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 117 |
| The Exploration Company | 9 | 4 | 4.4% | 0.0% | 3.5% | 0.9% | 113 |
| Planet | 17 | 7 | 13.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100 |
| Inversion Space | 14 | 4 | 100.0% | 20.5% | 0.0% | 2.4% | 83 |
| Stoke Space | 12 | 5 | 18.9% | 0.0% | 4.1% | 95.9% | 74 |
| Loft Orbital | 21 | 7 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 61 |
| Northwood Space | 14 | 6 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 60 |
| Xona Space Systems | 10 | 4 | 98.0% | 15.7% | 0.0% | 98.0% | 51 |
| BlackSky | 15 | 6 | 94.6% | 5.4% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 37 |
| Spire Global | 22 | 12 | 100.0% | 9.4% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 32 |
| Terran Orbital | 17 | 8 | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 29 |
| Dawn Aerospace | 13 | 5 | 95.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 87.5% | 24 |
| Kepler Communications | 22 | 7 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 22 |
| HawkEye 360 | 15 | 4 | 95.0% | 10.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 20 |
| Quindar | 13 | 7 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 17 |
| Hubble Network | 15 | 6 | 25.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 16 |
| Loft Federal | 11 | 4 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 14 |
| Outpost | 13 | 4 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 57.1% | 14 |
| Turion Space | 11 | 3 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13 |
| Starfish Space | 10 | 4 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 12 |
| Slingshot Aerospace | 9 | 5 | 0.0% | 90.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 11 |
| Momentus | 13 | 4 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 9 |
| Albedo | 11 | 2 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| Epsilon3 | 16 | 6 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3 |
Sample. 5,942 application forms of space roles open on 29 Oct 2026, at 38 employers, read from their own applicant-tracking systems (72.9% of the 8,150 open roles). 9 employers with open roles have no application form this site reads, the largest Blue Origin (1,444 roles), Boeing (139 roles) and Vantor (131 roles).
Fields: every input on the form, from name and email to the employer's last question. Its own questions: the fields that are not contact details, documents or links.
Each share is of that employer's forms read.
No row with any forms is a small sample: the rows differ so much that each reads on its own from its first.
Source. SpaceJobs.Now Research, What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores, read 29 Oct 2026.
Figure 3
Documents and profiles space applications ask for
Do space companies want a cover letter, a portfolio or a LinkedIn profile?
| Item | Forms asking | Forms requiring it |
|---|---|---|
| Resume or CV | 100.0% | 92.6% |
| Phone number | 98.7% | 92.0% |
| LinkedIn profile | 88.9% | 8.8% |
| Cover letter | 86.1% | 1.0% |
| Portfolio or website | 22.5% | 0.2% |
| GitHub profile | 4.0% | 0.0% |
| Current employer | 3.6% | 0.1% |
| Other file uploads | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Sample. 5,942 application forms of space roles open on 29 Oct 2026, at 38 employers, read from their own applicant-tracking systems (72.9% of the 8,150 open roles). 9 employers with open roles have no application form this site reads, the largest Blue Origin (1,444 roles), Boeing (139 roles) and Vantor (131 roles).
Name, email and phone, which nearly every form asks, are not listed.
Source. SpaceJobs.Now Research, What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores, read 29 Oct 2026.
Figure 4
What the applications ask, by kind of work
Do engineering, technician and business roles in space ask different questions?
| Kind of work | Citizenship or U.S. person | Security clearance | GPA | Salary expectations | Forms read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & Technicians | 87.0% | 58.7% | 20.2% | 29.3% | 1,076 |
| Programs & Business | 82.8% | 52.3% | 32.0% | 29.2% | 872 |
| Ground Software & IT | 88.0% | 57.2% | 42.8% | 24.9% | 722 |
| Supply Chain & Facilities | 93.3% | 72.0% | 51.0% | 20.7% | 667 |
| Systems, Integration & Test | 83.3% | 44.1% | 21.7% | 34.0% | 515 |
| Mechanical, Structures & Thermal | 88.8% | 42.4% | 26.8% | 31.4% | 493 |
| Avionics & Electrical | 90.5% | 56.5% | 37.0% | 26.2% | 370 |
| Quality & Mission Assurance | 90.9% | 56.2% | 33.0% | 27.7% | 361 |
| Flight Software & GNC | 87.4% | 44.5% | 24.4% | 30.7% | 254 |
| RF, Communications & Payloads | 88.8% | 58.8% | 42.8% | 26.7% | 187 |
| Propulsion & Engines | 83.8% | 35.8% | 18.4% | 32.4% | 179 |
| Launch & Mission Operations | 81.2% | 39.0% | 14.9% | 43.5% | 154 |
| Science, Imaging & Earth Data | 85.0% | 40.0% | 8.3% | 36.7% | 60 |
Sample. 5,942 application forms of space roles open on 29 Oct 2026, at 38 employers, read from their own applicant-tracking systems (72.9% of the 8,150 open roles). 9 employers with open roles have no application form this site reads, the largest Blue Origin (1,444 roles), Boeing (139 roles) and Vantor (131 roles).
Each share is of the kind's own forms read. The forms are the employers', so a kind's shares follow which employers hire for it.
Source. SpaceJobs.Now Research, What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores, read 29 Oct 2026.
Figure 5
How long space application forms are
How many questions does a space job application have?
| Form length | Forms | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 fields | 1 | 0.0% |
| 6 to 10 fields | 239 | 4.0% |
| 11 to 15 fields | 1,889 | 31.8% |
| 16 to 25 fields | 3,719 | 62.6% |
| 26 fields or more | 94 | 1.6% |
Sample. 5,942 application forms of space roles open on 29 Oct 2026, at 38 employers, read from their own applicant-tracking systems (72.9% of the 8,150 open roles). 9 employers with open roles have no application form this site reads, the largest Blue Origin (1,444 roles), Boeing (139 roles) and Vantor (131 roles).
Fields: every input on the form, from name and email to the last question.
Source. SpaceJobs.Now Research, What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores, read 29 Oct 2026.
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Method and definitions
The application form of every open role whose employer publishes it on a public applicant-tracking system (Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever), read when this site reads the employer's board and stored per role. Every figure is computed by one database query over the window shown, the same query for the live report and for every edition. Each figure states its sample beneath it.
- Asks
- At least one question on the form belongs to the theme, read from the question's own label.
- Requires an answer
- The form will not submit without it; the question may still offer "Not applicable" or "Did not take".
- Citizenship or U.S. person status
- A question about citizenship, permanent residence, refugee or asylee status, country of birth or export-control (ITAR or EAR) eligibility.
- Its own questions
- The fields an employer adds beyond contact details, documents and links.
What this data cannot tell you
- Employers whose career site shows the form only after the applicant signs in (most Workday sites, such as Blue Origin's) publish no form to read and are outside every figure.
- A form can change between the day it was read and the day someone applies.
- Each employer writes one form for most of its roles, so a share across all forms leans toward the employers with the most open roles.
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Citation
SpaceJobs.Now (2026). What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores (live data, 2 Oct 2026 to 29 Oct 2026). https://spacejobs.now/research/what-space-job-applications-ask (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
BibTeX
@misc{spacejobsnow_what_space_job_applications_ask_live,
author = {{SpaceJobs.Now}},
title = {What Space Job Applications Ask: Citizenship, Clearance, GPA and Test Scores (live data, 2 Oct 2026 to 29 Oct 2026)},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://spacejobs.now/research/what-space-job-applications-ask}},
note = {Accessed 30 Oct 2026},
}More research
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