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Support to Science Operations Venus Express
2013-02-21 16:37:15| Space-careers.com Jobs RSS
Aurora is an established supplier of skilled manpower to ESA and in particular at ESTEC and ESAC. Aurora has the opportunity to expand our support within the Science and Robotic Exploration Directorate DSRE. Aurora currently has a team of 19 engineers and scientists at ESAC. Overview ESA is operating and developing several spacecraft to Solar System bodies, a.o. Mars Express, Rosetta, Venus Express VEX, BepiColombo, Solar Orbiter. For these missions the science operations will be located at ESAC. One of the components in science operations is the task of generating the commands to operate the scientific payload of a spacecraft. Three main entities are involved in this task the PI teams having built the experiments, a Mission Operations Center MOC which coordinates the satellite operations and a Science Operations Center SOC which coordinates the operations of the scientific payload. The main tasks of the VEX SOC are defined in the Science Management Plan for the respective missions and are summarized here a Definition of scientific operations for all mission phases with Principal Investigator PI team support. b Mission planning and implementation of experiment operation schedules. c Coordination and prechecking of command sequences for the operations of their payload before submission to the MOC. d Support the PI teams with software necessary to prepare the operational timelines. e Together with the PI teams, the creation of a summary of the main scientific results, at regular intervals or for mission highlights. The VEX Science Operations are led by the SOC Operations Manager in close coordination with the Project Scientist, who is responsible for optimizing the science return of VEX. The Venus Express Mission Manager has the overall responsibility for the Venus Express mission and its implementation. The SOC Operations Manager is supported by a number of operational engineers and scientists forming the VEX Science Operations Center VSOC team. A basic principle of the Venus Express science operations is the requirement for a strong involvement by each PI team for the preparation of the science operations. The Science Working Team SWT advises the project scientist on science matters for the mission and indirectly assists VSOC in elaborating science strategies and maximizing the scientific return of the mission. The Science Activity Plan and the Medium Term Plans are the basis for all science operations planning. For the execution of the Venus Express science operations tasks, the VSOC requires support in the area of mission planning. It is expected that, after getting acquainted with the VEX science operations, the majority of the Contractors time under this contract will be devoted to work package 2 mediumterm planning support. Work package 1 and 3 shall be performed whenever the main responsible person is not available or needs support. Work package 4 planning software engineering support shall be performed on an asneeded basis. WP1 LongTerm Planning Support Other colleagues in the VSOC team mainly cover these tasks. The contractors key person should act as a backup for this person and thus cover, in case of absence of the colleague or when workload demands. WP2 MediumTerm Planning MTP support The longterm planning needs to be detailed a few months before operation to match to the real VEX orbit and the specific requests from the instrument teams. In 4week intervals, mediumterm plans will need to be prepared. The contractors key person will act as an interface point to coordinate the mediumterm planning inputs from the PI teams. In detail, the following tasks need to be performed Collect the mediumterm planning input from the PI teams Using the EPSPTB and MAPPS software tools, check the PI input for correctness Where required, support specific PI teams in the generation of their MTP level products Iterate, if required, the operational requests with the PI teams Forward the consolidated operational requests to the VMOC in the form of Pointing Requests PTR and Payload Operational Request POR files Iterate, if required, the operational requests with the VMOC. Expected output One mediumterm plan per month, consisting of Pointing Requests PTR and Instrument Timelines ITL. Documented process and planning files storage in Concurrent Versioning System CVS Planning files delivery to the VEX Mission Operations Center. WP3 ShortTerm Planning STP support The shortterm planning will be based on the monthly mediumterm planning and encompasses the actual production of telecommand sequences to be sent to the VEX Mission Operations Centre for uplink to the spacecraft. WP4 Planning Software Engineering support A number of software tools are in use in the VSOC team for the scientific planning and commanding of payload, the Experiment Planning System EPS the MAPPS Mapping and Payload Planning Software tool and SOLAB Science Operations laboratory. EPS and MAPPS tools are developed by DTEC. Their validation before usage in done by the SOC. The contractor shall provide support in the maintenance and daily operation of the tools, especially MAPPS, the main VSOC planning tool. Specific qualification requirements All applicants must be European Union citizens legally allowed to work in Spain without the need to obtain a work visa. University degree or equivalent in space engineering, planetary science or a related field. At least 4 years relevant professional experience. You must be able to work in English. Specific knowledge is required in the following areas experience with ESA science missions and interaction with PI teams familiarity with Venus Express Science Operations and Planning good knowledge of geometrical constraints for planning of spacecraft pointing experience with the software tools EPS and MAPPS familiarity with the format of operational request files POR, ITL, PTR files. have good communication skills be willing and capable of working in a small, highly motivated team. Location The work will be performed at the ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, at Villafranca del Castillo, near Madrid, Spain. Contract You will be registered for both social security and tax in Spain. The standard working hours are 40 per week. There are 12 public holidays and an additional 29 annual days holiday. In addition to public health services Aurora provides private medical insurance in Spain. Training to improve efficiency and provide strength for future career are of course included. Aurora can assist financially and provide recent experience information for relocation. To be considered for this Position Provide prior to 14 March 2013 a summary of why you are a good candidate for the position together with a complete and detailed Recruitment Form to Mr. Alex Jeanes, at email alexjeanesaurora.nl quoting reference SRE28. Aurora will agree conditional employment terms and conditions with candidates before presenting their recruitment form to ESA by 20 March 2013. ESA will select the candidates for interview and Aurora will provide for interview travel costs. Should ESA select you then a formal letter of employment shall be issued with an agreed start date.
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