Internship title: Execution of analysis on automated station-keeping for LEO satellites, including new missions such as EPS-Sterna

The operational concept for future EUMETSAT satellites includes automated orbit control, also known as station-keeping. The orbit control types include absolute and relative PSO (Position Sur l’Orbit) control, ground-track maintenance, eccentricity control, MLST (Mean Local Solar Time) control, inclination control, longitude control, as well as co-location strategies.

The focus of this internship will be limited to those orbit control types applicable to Low Earth Orbit satellites.

A key component of the project will be to conduct simulations using specialized mission analysis tools. These simulations will aim to evaluate orbit control in terms of fuel consumption, the number and duration of manoeuvres, and the risk of orbit control violations while account for uncertainties such as orbit propagation errors, manoeuvre inaccuracies or failures, and the potential need for the implementation of collision avoidance actions in response to collision risks with other space objects.

The intern will develop an understanding of the significance of orbit control activities and their impact on satellite operations. Analysing the results from dedicated simulations will yield valuable insights that can inform the design of orbit control strategies for both current and future EUMETSAT missions.

Duties

The main tasks of the internship are:

• Familiarisation with EUMETSAT mission analysis tools;
• Definition of operational scenarios;
• Implementation of operational scenarios;

• Execution of simulations;
• Document and synthesize results accordingly in a document report and an end-of-internship presentation.
• In addition, the intern will support relevant day-to-day activities within the team.

Skills and Experience

• Have the ability to work effectively in English;
• Be computer literate;
• Be intrinsically motivated and curious about the internship subject;
• Be able to work independently and collaboratively;
• Have the ability to take the initiative in researching ideas;
• Have the ability to collect, collate, conceptualize and present information clearly.

Additional specific requirements:

• Knowledge in orbit mechanics;
• Familiarity with Windows & Linux operating systems as well as MATLAB and Python programming languages would be desired.