Intern in the Biomass/Flex/Cryosat & Swarm Mission Operations Unit, Mission Operations Department

Our team and mission

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

BIOMASS, the 7th Earth Explorer mission of ESA, is currently planned for launch during the second quarter of 2025. Carrying a novel P-band synthetic aperture radar, the Biomass mission is designed to deliver crucial information about the state of our forests and how they are changing. The Launch and Early Phase (LEOP) entails complex operations due to the need for deploying the large instrument reflector in flight that is fully folded to fit into the launcher fairing. 

Due to different pointing and performance requirements of the different deployment phases, the satellite is designed to follow transitions between different attitude and orbit control modes. Based on the telemetry received from the satellite during ground station passes, the attitude and rates of the spacecraft can be assessed. Both the Flight Dynamics team and the Flight Control Team process the information received from various sensors and actuators on-board to both evaluate the current state and predict the future state of the spacecraft. 

The Flight Control Team is planning to use the CNES developed VTS/Celestia tool to animate a 3D model of the BIOMASS spacecraft based on real telemetry, orbit position and attitude data. While this is primarily intended for the LEOP to visualise the spacecraft pointing during the complex deployment operations (e.g. to understand easily where the on-board camera was pointing), it may also be extended to support the assessment of contingencies and to highlight mission specific events during the entire exploitation phase. 

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

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Biomass/.

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Spacecraft 3D model and visualization tool in support to BIOMASS operations

As part of the Flight Control team, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in the preparations of the Biomass LEOP!  

After familiarising with the BIOMASS mission itself, the Attitude and Orbit Control subsystem (AOCS) and some of the internal interfaces of the ESOC mission control systems, the main objectives are: 

• The customisation of VTS, its input and output interfaces to depict spacecraft position and attitude;
• The integrating of an existing spacecraft 3D model into the tool;
• The implementation of the necessary interfaces between the tool and the spacecraft telemetry and/or Flight Dynamics predictions;
• The deployment of the tool into a pre-operational environment;
• The identification of further opportunities, e.g. the visualisation of future states (predictions) to support commissioning and routine activities.

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.

Required technical skills: 

• Familiarity with 3D visualisation tools, specifically VTS/Celestia;
• Strong background in modern programming languages and web technologies (e.g. Python, Java, Bash Shell Scripting); 
• General knowledge of satellite systems;
• Basic knowledge of space dynamics and spacecraft modelling;