Startups & NewSpace

Defense tech startups and NewSpace companies operate on fundamentally different rules than prime contractors or government agencies. Rolling admissions, flat organizations, real engineering from day one, and — in some cases — the highest intern pay in aerospace.

What makes startup internships different:

• Speed. You'll apply, interview, and hear back in weeks, not months.
• Scope. Interns work on production code and real hardware, not sandboxed projects.
• Pay. Shield AI (~$61/hr) and Skydio ($47–58/hr) pay more than most primes.
• Culture. Small teams, fast iteration, minimal bureaucracy. But also long hours and high expectations.

The trade-offs: Most require US Person status (ITAR). Many are in expensive cities (San Diego, San Mateo, Costa Mesa). Some don't provide housing. All are college-only — none have high school programs.

SpaceX

The most competitive aerospace internship in the world. SpaceX launches more rockets than any other company on Earth and Starship is the largest rocket ever built. Interns work on production hardware, flight software, test operations, and mission-critical systems across Hawthorne (CA), Starbase (TX), Cape Canaveral (FL), and Redmond (WA).

The pace is intense — long hours, high expectations, and fast iteration. Technical chops, personal projects, and competition results matter more than GPA alone. The credential is unmatched: "SpaceX intern" on your resume tells every future employer you survived the most demanding environment in aerospace. Housing is not provided — budget for expensive locations.

Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos's space company building New Glenn (heavy-lift orbital rocket), Blue Moon (NASA lunar lander), and the BE-4 engine that powers both New Glenn and ULA's Vulcan Centaur. The culture is more deliberate than SpaceX — "Gradatim Ferociter" (step by step, ferociously) — with better work-life balance.

The differentiator: Blue Origin provides housing support (stipend or assistance), which matters enormously for a college student trying to afford a summer in Seattle or Cape Canaveral. Huntsville, AL is an expanding, affordable location.

A remarkable concentration of NewSpace startups has emerged in the Seattle/Puget Sound area — from fully reusable rockets to orbital habitats to lunar mining. Many are earlier-stage than SpaceX or Blue Origin, which means smaller teams, broader intern responsibilities, and the chance to work on genuinely novel technology. All require US Person status (ITAR).

Stoke Space

Building the world's first 100% reusable rocket — both booster and upper stage — designed for daily flight. Raised over $1.3 billion (Series D) and valued at ~$2B. One of the best-funded private rocket companies in the world. Headquarters in Kent, WA with test operations at Moses Lake, WA and a launch site at Cape Canaveral, FL (LC-14). Summer 2026 internships span engineering (mechanical, test, avionics, software, manufacturing), software, and business development. Pay ranges from $28/hr (junior) to $40/hr (completed master's). On-site required.

Gravitics

Building large orbital structures — station modules, cargo spacecraft, and space infrastructure. Their flagship StarMax module offers ~400 cubic meters of volume, nearly half the ISS in a single module. Customers include Axiom Space and the U.S. Space Force. Based in Marysville, WA. Summer 2026 engineering internships (May–August, 10–12 weeks) are open to juniors and above, with a competitive hourly wage plus a housing stipend for relocation.

Starfish Space

Satellite servicing and space sustainability. Their Otter spacecraft extends the life of geostationary satellites and disposes of defunct LEO satellites, using their proprietary Nautilus capture mechanism and Manta robotic arm. Won a $54.5M Space Force contract in 2026. Based in Tukwila, WA. Summer 2026 paid internships (10+ weeks, on-site) include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, GNC engineering, and business development roles. Starfish is one of the few startups with multiple distinct intern tracks.

Portal Space Systems

Developing highly maneuverable spacecraft using solar thermal propulsion — heating ammonia with concentrated sunlight to achieve nuclear-propulsion-level performance without radioactive materials. Raised $17.5M seed plus a $45M Space Force STRATFI commitment. Based in Bothell, WA with a new 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility planned. Currently hiring a SWE intern with an April 15, 2026 deadline — one of the few NewSpace startup internships with an open application window right now.

Starcloud

Building data centers in orbit. Launched Starcloud-1 in November 2025 — the first satellite with an NVIDIA H100 GPU, and the first entity to train an LLM in space. Planning next launch with multiple H100s and NVIDIA Blackwell chips in October 2026. Backed by In-Q-Tel and the NVIDIA Inception program. Based in Redmond, WA. No formal internship program, but the team is open to compensated interns across mechanical, software, solar, thermal, and electrical engineering. Check their careers page directly.

Other Emerging Companies

• Interlune — Extracting helium-3 from lunar regolith for quantum computing, fusion energy, and medical imaging. Founded by former Blue Origin and NASA leaders. Based in Seattle. ~28 employees, $20M raised. Planning internships once their Texas R&D facility opens. Early career engineering roles available now.
• Xplore — "Space as a Service" multi-sensor XCRAFT satellites and LightCraft solar sail (designed to be the fastest spacecraft in human history). Customers include NASA, NOAA, and NRO. Based in Redmond, WA. No formal intern program, but engineering roles are posted.
• Kyten Technologies — Custom aerospace-grade battery packs for drones, submarines, satellites, and launch vehicles. Founded by ex-SpaceX and Shield AI engineers. Y Combinator W26 batch. Very early stage (2-person team in Seattle) — watch for future openings as they scale.