Our team and mission

This position is based at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) - Darmstadt, Germany

Under the direct authority of the Head of the Mission Operations Department, the Head of the Solar System and Exploration Missions Division is responsible for the ground segment and mission operations implementation for the ESA scientific missions that travel in interplanetary space and for all the exploration missions. The responsibilities of the Division start typically from Phase B through in-flight commissioning to routine mission operations until end of mission. The Head of Division acts as the OPS interface to the ESA Project (and later Mission) Manager of these missions and carries responsibility for all technical, financial and schedule aspects of the ground segment and operations implementation and execution. The Head of Division is responsible for directing and executing flight operations in all mission phases, in particular acting as Flight Operations Director for pre-flight simulations, for Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) and for critical and commissioning phase operations.

The Head of Division is responsible for coordinating the operations definition phase activities for ESA mission candidates in phase 0 or in phase A/B1. This is performed in conjunction with the relevant operations divisions in OPS-O and ground segment experts in OPS-G.

The Head of the Solar System and Exploration Division also functionally reports to D/HRE in the role of Lead Operations Architect for the Exploration Programme. In this role, the Head of Division leads the Joint Exploration Operations Architecture Team, composed of members from the HRE, OPS and SCI Directorates.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Telemetry bit rate optimization during a ground station pass

The Telemetry bit rate to be used during each ground station pass is calculated making use of the Link Budget Tool and it is known for all the passes until end of mission. Currently the telemetry bit rate is not optimized along the pass, and therefore a bit rate that covers the worst case (under fixed weather conditions) has to be chosen. One factor that influences the bit rate is the elevation. The signal to noise ratio (quality of the link) improves with increasing elevation. Many ground station passes for Solar Orbiter are scheduled such that the start of track coincides with the start of visibility above 10 degrees elevation. The TM bit rate selected for the whole pass should be such that the minimum telemetry margin is satisfied for the 10 degrees elevation case. The purpose of this activity is to propose a fixed elevation threshold above which it makes generally sense to use a higher telemetry bit rate, to calculate the new telemetry rate to be used for the remaining of the ground station passes in the mission, and to perform the necessary changes in the ground tools (Mission Planning System) to generate the related planning products (commands, ground station configuration, planning files). The activity will be based on the work developed in the interplanetary operations division by a previous trainee. 
 

Learning areas from these activities will be: Mission design, Mission operations, spacecraft telecommunications, Mission Planning, Mission Control System, Automation. 

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Competences: Bash, Python, familiarity with Linux environment, familiarity with the concept of APIs, some knowledge in S/C telecommunications, experience with Java (optional).