Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

A RAND Corporation study finds the U.S. space industry lacks sufficient engineers, technicians, and assemblers to rebuild military satellites destroyed in a potential war with China or Russia within the required 12-to-24-month timeline. Critical workforce gaps exist across all three skill categories—design engineers compete with higher-paying AI and tech sectors, skilled assembly workers face a 19-to-1 shortage ratio, and specialized doctorate-level experts are scarce with 70% of recent qualified candidates being foreign nationals ineligible for classified work. The report identifies security clearance delays, atrophying skills between contracts, and the challenge of rapidly scaling production as major obstacles to meeting wartime reconstitution needs.