PhD candidate for Digital Twins of Large Spacecraft Formations

The Space System Engineering (SpaSys) research group at SnT is seeking to hire a highly motivated PhD candidate for investigations in the area of large spacecraft formation flight, that is, a swarm consisting of dozens of satellites flying in proximity. You will join the Space System Engineering (SpaSys) research group, led by Prof. Andreas Hein.

The PhD position will be conducted with the HEU Marie-Skłodowska-Curie funded project GLITTER aiming to develop a novel Earth Observation method based on the GNSS-reflectometry method using formations/swarms of CubeSats. The high-resolution bi-static radar remote sensing promises obtaining unparalleled data to better understand the planet and the impact of climate change. The project enables instantaneous international exposure with top-ranked European universities and with industry.

The objective is to investigate the Digital-twin of the spacecraft formation and the ground segment with a focus on:

• Dependencies between the formation flight attitude control needs and those of other subsystems such as power, communication and Earth observation
• To-ground and inter-satellite communications link for synchronization, formation flight coordination and data transfer (different technologies such as CubeSat commercial RF, Wifi, 5G and optical systems will be considered)
• Interplay of onboard data reduction and to-ground/inter-satellite data transfer
• Transition toward Hardware-in-the-Loop system verification, through subsystem facilities available at SnT, toward prototype development
• Carry out your research with collaborators at the SnT and members of the large European GLITTER consortium
• Disseminate your findings at conferences and in journal papers
• Provide assistance in teaching and organizational matters related to GLITTER