Also called: FDO, Navigation Engineer, Astrodynamicist
Calculates exactly where a spacecraft is going and plans the engine burns to get it there.
You process tracking data to pin down a spacecraft's orbit, plan a maneuver to avoid a piece of space junk, and send the numbers to the command team.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's in aerospace engineering or physics; master's in astrodynamics is common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Part of BLS aerospace engineers category.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI and automated tools plan routine orbits and burns; unusual missions and verification stay human.
Classes: AP Calculus, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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