Can private-sector space business be profitable, or is it just an exciting way for billionaires to live out their fantasies?

This article is more than 2 years old.

December 1, 2014 This article is more than 2 years old.

Can you climb a ladder? Drive a tractor? Know your way around John Deere equipment?

Want to work for a company focused on “aviation-like spaceflight capability and making humanity a multi-planet species”?

If so, Space X has the perfect job for you. The commercial space company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is hiring a farmer.

Apart from requirements like knowledge of fertilizer and seed and a decade of row-crop experience in central Texas, eligible farmers must comply with US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), restrictions on goods and services meant to preserve national security. (At Space X, baristas and dishwashers also must be ITAR-compliant.)

Although the job listing doesn’t say for sure (and Space X hasn’t gotten back to us with details), it’s likely that Space X is not onboarding a farmer to develop agriculturally self-sufficient space colonies, but rather just trying to take advantage of the extra land on its 900-acre testing facility in McGregor, Texas. Using the land for farming likely would allow Space X to save on property taxes due to agricultural tax exemptions in Texas.