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Support to Science Operations Venus Express
2013-02-21 11:34:35| Space-careers.com Jobs RSS
We are a leader company in Aerospace Engineering and Scientific services with more than 45 years of experience working for NASA and 35 years working for ESA. We seek a candidate for a postion located at ESAC European Space Astronomy Centre in Villanueva de la Caada Madrid. Job Description 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, where specific tasks include WP1 LongTerm Planning Support Tasks 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, 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. Expected output Implementation of the Science Activity Plan that describes the science goals, the measurements needed to fulfill them, the observations that perform these measurements, and a timeline of observations Preparation of specific science operations, which fulfill the Science Activity Plan. WP2 MediumTerm Planning MTP support Tasks 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 Tasks 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. Expected output One set of Payload Operational Request files per week sent to VMOC. WP4 Planning Software Engineering support Tasks 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. 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. Expected output Functioning and validated MAPPS tool. Specific tasks requirements for this position Specific knowledge is required in the following areas l experience with ESA science missions and interaction with PI teams l familiarity with Venus Express Science Operations and Planning l good knowledge of geometrical constraints for planning of spacecraft pointing l experience with the software tools EPS and MAPPS l familiarity with the format of operational request files POR, ITL, PTR files. l have good communication skills l be willing and capable of working in a small, highly motivated team. l the Contractors key person should be fluent in English. In addition knowledge of the following would be beneficial l familiarity with the software tool SOLAB l Concurrent Versioning System CVS l SPICE l IDL Specific Qualification Requirements l University degree or equivalent in space engineering, planetary science or a related field Other Information About the role 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. The Contractors key person shall work during normal office hours. Location and reporting Together with other VSOC staff, the Contractors key person will be based at ESAC. Travel Travel to ESOC or other places in Europe should be assumed for about 2 times per year, 23 days each. Applications Interested candidates should send CV and personnal letter to tarsicio.martinesa.int by 20032013.
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