New opportunity for university students to learn about Earth observation satellite system design
ESA’s Education Office is looking for 30 highly motivated students at Master’s and Ph.D. levels in engineering and science disciplines to participate in the third edition of the Earth Observation Satellite System Design Training Course. The course will be held at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Transinne, Belgium, between 6 and 10 November 2023.
Earth Observation (EO) satellites deliver information which are a key to guiding the World population towards a sustainable society. They allow the monitoring of vegetation and agriculture to safeguard the preservation and usage of our limited resources into the future; provide rapid assessment of damages in case of disasters such as flooding and earthquake, and enable efficient assistance measures; make it possible to gain better understanding of urban development; and allow the monitoring of meteorological and environmental parameters essential for a thorough understanding of the evolution of Earth’s global-scale dynamics, i.e. its future climate.
EO satellite missions constitute the largest programme of ESA’s activities. In fact, a significant portion of ESA’s annual budget is dedicated to EO satellite missions. ESA is also the main actor for the implementation of the current Copernicus Programme in cooperation with the European Commission, the world’s largest civil EO programme, which aims to provide Europe with independent access to Earth remote sensing data.
This is a practice-oriented course, where students will become acquainted with the end-to-end design of an EO satellite system. They will start with requirements definition based on mission objectives, progressing to orbit trade-offs and design of the payload instruments (microwave and optical), followed by the satellite design, ground segment architecture and operations, verification & testing, all the way through to in-orbit validation!
The students will be able to put into practice what they learn through a group project composed of a challenging series of design exercises which form a step-by-step observation system design project. Each student will be in charge of a given engineering field, including system engineering lead, microwave instrument sizing, optical instrument sizing, satellite design and ground segment & operations concepts. They will collaborate with their group to come up with a simple but realistic EO system design. Trainers will be on hand to share their knowledge and support during group project session.
The ESA Academy’s Earth Observation Satellite System Design Training Course has been developed by ESA’s Education Office, together with ESA’s EO system specialists and members of ARES, the Association of Retired ESA Staff. All the trainers delivering lectures have extensive experience in ESA EO system development, giving students a taste of what it is like to really work in the space sector.
Preliminary schedule:
| Day 1 | Introduction to Earth Observation (EO) and EO Satellite Systems Use of EO Satellite Data in Science, Institutional Services and Commercial Market From User Needs to System Requirements Satellite Observation System Fundamentals in EO Orbit and Coverage Analysis (Group Project Session 1) |
| Day 2 | Electromagnetic Wave Theory and Antennas Radar Remote Sensing Microwave Radiometry Microwave Payload Design (Group Project session 2) |
| Day 3 | Basics of Space Optics Passive Optical Payloads Space Lidars Risk Management & Technology Development Optical Payload Design (Group Project session 3) |
| Day 4 | Satellite System Design & Payload Accommodation Ground Segment & Operations Concepts On-Ground AIV Launch campaign System Design (Group Project session 4) |
| Day 5 | System Design Wrap-up (Group Project session 5) Group presentations |
The above lectures and Group project sessions will be complemented by short videos shown in the evenings, which illustrate the use of Satellite Earth Observation data for various applications and provide insights into how users are benefiting from the derived information.
Who can apply?
In order to participate, students must fulfil the following eligibility criteria at the time of application:
- aged minimum 18 years old. ESA Academy and relevant partners will only appraise applications from students who have no or limited professional experience in relevant engineering or space-related topics;
- be a citizen of an ESA Member State, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia or Slovenia;
- be enrolled as a Master or PhD student in a university for the year 2023-2024
- be studying for a scientific or engineering degree and have a solid mathematics and physics background.
Selected students will be required to attend the entire 5-day training course at ESEC. They will be sponsored by ESA to cover accommodation and meals, as well as up to 300 Euros for travelling to Belgium.
Students participating in the Earth Observation Satellite System Design Training Course 2023 will be evaluated based on their group work throughout the week and the final presentation. Upon completion of the training course students will receive a certificate of participation and a course transcript, allowing them to request ECTS credit(s) from their respective universities.
How to apply
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Fill in the application form;
Be sure to select your first, second, and third choice for your role in the group project from the following tasks:
- System lead engineer
- Microwave payload engineer
- Optical payload engineer
- Satellite engineer
- Ground segment & Operations engineer
Please also make sure that you add some information about your preferences/choices in the application form as well as in the motivation letter.
- Upload a motivation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, no images);
- Upload a CV (Europass format, PDF, maximum 2 pages);
- Upload a formal recommendation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, including signature, no images) from a university professor or academic supervisor of current university (if it is not possible to receive the recommendation letter from your referee, please ask them to send a recommendation email to tlp@esa.int before the application deadline);
- Upload a copy of academic records (PDF).
All answers and documents should be in English (except academic records if not available).
The deadline for applications to participate in the Earth Observation Satellite System Design Training Course 2023 is 4 September 2023, 23:59 CET.
For more information, please contact tlp@esa.int.