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Venus Express Science Operations Engineer fm
2013-02-22 17:37:02| Space-careers.com Jobs RSS
About us SCISYS Deutschland GmbH provides professional engineering and consultancy services supporting space programmes and missions. We have a strong presence at ESOC and EUMETSAT, as well as serving all ESA sites, ESO, Columbus Control Centre, the German Galileo Control Centre and spacecraft primes. Our team is composed of university graduates and experienced professionals, comprising some of the most knowledgeable, dedicated and talented engineers across Europe. Our services cover the whole life cycle of space programmes from early concepts to operations. Our Space Division provides a dynamic, supportive and friendly atmosphere in which you are encouraged to lead with initiative. We support new ideas from our colleagues and are focused on innovation. Moreover, we actively manage your professional development, training and career progression. For our project near Madrid in Spain we are looking for a Venus Express Science Operations Engineer fm at ESAC. Tasks 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 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. 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 will be devoted to work package 2. Work packages 1 and 3 shall be performed whenever the main responsible person is not available or needs support. Work package 4 shall be performed on an asneeded basis. The specific tasks include WP1 LongTerm Planning Support The contractor should act as a backup and thus cover the following tasks Support the Project Scientist in the coordination of the PI teams in the definition of the science goals and their mapping to the operations Collection and consolidation of the measurements the PI teams want to perform Derive observation sequences from the requests provided by the PI teams Ensure that the planning software used for VEX EPS, PTB, MAPPS is compatible with the requirements of the VEX mission Using the EPS and PTB software, develop a proposal for a schedule of observations for the complete mission 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 Contractor 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 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. In detail, the following tasks need to be performed Collect the shortterm planning input from the PI teams Using the EPSPTB and MAPPS software tools, check the PI input for correctness Iterate, if required, the operational requests with the PI teams Forward the consolidated operational requests to the VMOC in the form of Payload Operational Request POR files Iterate, if required, the operational requests with the VMOC 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. The Contractor shall provide support in the maintenance and daily operation of the tools, especially MAPPS, the main VSOC planning tool. In particular, heshe shall Collect VEX requests for the operationally necessary changes to these tools i.e. response to SPRs Software Problem Reports Assure software versions are validated and kept under configuration control Follow up the implementation of these changes Essential Requirements The service to be provided requires the following qualification, knowledge and experience A University degree or equivalent in space engineering, planetary science or a related field 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. Good communication skills Capability of working in a small, highly motivated team Fluency in English Desirable Skills The following knowledge and expirience would be regarded as an asset Familiarity with the software tool SOLAB Concurrent Versioning System CVS SPICE IDL Additional Information The candidate must have a valid Spanish work and residence permit or be an EU Citizen Planned start date is 15 April 2013 Travel to ESOC or other places in Europe should be assumed twice a year To guarantee that your application is processed, please apply via our website httpwww.scisys.dewhereweworkspacecareersspacejobs.html
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