ESA Graduate Trainee in Satellite Flight Operations for the Copernicus CRISTAL Mission

Our team and mission

Our team belongs to the Earth Observation Missions Division, Mission Operations Department, Directorate of Operations.

The Earth Observation Missions Division is responsible for:

• the design, implementation and operations of the flight operations ground segment
• the spacecraft operations

for all ESA Earth observation satellites and the entrusted Copernicus missions, typically from the beginning of early design phases through launch and in-flight commissioning to routine mission operations until the end of mission.

In our specific area, we are responsible for the above activities for several Copernicus missions, such as Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P and Sentinel-6, as well as for several future Sentinel Expansion missions. Some missions are developed in close collaboration with another organisation such as EUMETSAT or NASA/JPL.

The future Sentinel Expansion missions are a family of six Sentinel missions, all of which feature some of the latest characteristics in terms of satellite design and operations, such as new telecommand and telemetry standards or file-based operations and their related protocols. CO2M and CRISTAL are the two Sentinel Expansion missions with the closest launch date, and a key objective of our team is to ensure readiness for launch in 2027.

Further information is available at: 

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-2

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5p

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-6

For CO2M and CRISTAL
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Copernicus_Sentinel_Expansion_missions

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As an ESA Graduate Trainee, you will become an integral part of the Flight Control Team for CRISTAL, one of the first Copernicus Expansion missions.

You will contribute to the integration, testing, validation and flight phases of this mission, and possibly other missions in the Unit or the Division.

In particular, your tasks will include the following:

• Working as part of the Flight Control Team for the CRISTAL mission.
• Developing a sufficient understanding of the CRISTAL system and space segment to allow you to carry out the related tasks.
• Participating in generation and validation activities for the procedures for operating the satellite and the ground segment systems.
• Participating in system validation tests conducted with the real proto-flight model that will be launched into space.
• Supporting the configuration and validation of tools for the CRISTAL mission, such as those used to maintain the timeline of satellite activities during the launch and early orbit phase.
• Familiarising yourself with the ESOC tools and working environment dedicated to the preparation and implementation of satellite operations.
• Potentially supporting similar tasks in other missions of the Unit or Division, including the deployment of evolutions and tools for other flying spacecraft, such as Sentinel-1/2/3/5p, for example to streamline collision avoidance manoeuvre coordination processes, or to carry out mission status reporting tasks, etc.

The above list should be considered a potential set of tasks; it is possible that only some of them will be achieved during the traineeship. The list will be adapted at the beginning and in the course of the traineeship, taking into account your skills and interests, as well as the main needs of the target mission(s).

Technical competencies

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 should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in a technical or scientific discipline.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process. 

Specific competence in one or more of the following disciplines will be considered an asset:

• Space systems engineering
• Ground systems architecture and design, including modern software tools and languages
• Space mission operations.