PhD: Deployment and Control of a Distributed Telescope as a Formation of Nanosatellites

28 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

University of Luxembourg

Department

Human Resources

Research Field

Engineering » Aerospace engineering
Engineering » Electrical engineering
Computer science » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Luxembourg

Application Deadline

18 May 2024 - 00:00 (Europe/Luxembourg)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

H2020 / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND

Reference Number

Project 101120117 — GLITTER

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101120117

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

ORGANISATION/COMPANY:	Université du Luxembourg, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability & Trust (SnT)
RESEARCH FIELD:	Deployment and Control of a Distributed Telescope as a Formation of Nanosatellites
RESEARCHER PROFILE:	Doctoral Candidate
LOCATION:	Luxembourg, and 6 months research stay at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
APPLICATION DEADLINE:	May 18, 12:00 am, Brussels time
TYPE OF CONTRACT:	Fixed Term Contract, duration 36 months (extendable up to 48 months if required)
JOB STATUS:	Full-time
HOURS PER WEEK:	40 hours
EU RESEARCH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME:	GLITTER | Gnss-r sateLlITe earTh observation GA N° 101120117

   

GENERAL:

GNSS-R is a technique to carry out Earth observation based on reflections on the ground (or sea, or ice) of signals originating from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals. The proposed project consists of educating a new generation of experts, at doctoral level, able to bring a qualitative leap to this technology. The scientific and technological goal consists of developing such systems based on a synchronized constellation of Cubesats. An important advantage of this arrangement is the very low cost of cubesats and the possibility to increase resolution based on beamforming from the satellites. Ground truth, as well as some of the methods, will originate from near-field radar technology. This will require further research on all segments of GNSS-R technology and beyond: launching and adjustment of cubesat formations, RF synchronization, interferometry between moving platforms, calibration of RF front-ends, ground testing making use of drones, cubesat systems, on-board processing, data transfer and analysis, translation into ground truth and into predictions important for climate change studies and for optimal territory management. The project may also benefit to other technologies making use of interferometry, such as radioastronomy and phased array based communications. It is also expected to assist industry segments making use of GNSS signals, such as precision agriculture, forestry and sea and land management.

 

Training programme for recruited researchers:

GLITTER offers a rich inter-sector training program, with private and academic partners, recognized in all segments of satellite-based Earth observation at microwaves. The program has been designed taking into consideration the “triple i” aspects: international, inter-sectoral, and inter-disciplinary, thanks to the different competences brought by each partner of the network as well as lecturer outside of the consortium with complementary competences.

Each Doctoral Candidate (DC) will benefit from an individual and customized training program, established in the personal Doctoral Education Agreement (DEA) that offers a combination of research specific and transferable skills. First, the core training, often but not always local, with order of 5 ECTs on specialized topics, close to a given DC personal project, to allow him/her to acquire a deep understanding of her/his subject. Second, the network-wide training will be offered by the consortium during the whole project life cycle through 4 training schools and 3 workshops. The workshops will include practical system-based development.

Job conditions

Each host organisation will appoint the successful applicant under an employment contract with a very competitive salary. The candidate is expected to join their host organizations starting from September 1st , 2024 (estimated time). Additional funding for participation to courses, workshops, conferences, etc. is ensured.

All positions include a doctoral track and the successful applicant will be registered for the PhD program at the host institution. The duration of the Fixed term Contract at the University of Luxembourg is 36 months (extendable up to 48 months if required).

 

EU eligibility criteria for candidates:

The Doctoral Candidate (DC) may be a national of a Member State, of an Associated Country or of any Third Country.

Researchers must be doctoral candidates (no doctoral degree at the date of recruitment)

The DC must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of her/his host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to her/his recruitment. (Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not considered)

 

Candidates profile:

• Qualification: The candidate should possess an MSc degree or equivalent in Control / Aerospace / Electrical Engineering, or related fields in Engineering or Computer Engineering
• Solid experience / knowledge in the following areas:

• Mathematical and Control Engineering, especially related to spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control
• Modeling and simulation of spacecraft dynamics
• Spacecraft formations/swarms
• Control of drones and flight experiments as well as knowledge in GNSS would be an asset

• Outstanding academic records
• Teamworking experience, e.g. via student projects, competitions or similar
• International experience is desirable, e.g., via a study abroad, internships, Erasmus, double-degree
• Programming Skills: Experience with MATLAB/Simulink and Python, programming skills in C/C++ are an asset
• Language Skills: Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are required

All consortium members are equal opportunity employers.

Research centres:

• Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
• Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands
• Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg
• Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
• Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, France
• University of Cambridge, UK
• Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain (Associated Partner)

Companies:

• Syntony, France
• Polychord Ltd., UK
• Hydroscan, Belgium (Associated Partner)

 

To learn more about each of the nine thesis topics proposed in this project, please click on the following link: https://sites.uclouvain.be/DN_GLITTER/

 

Consortium-wide individual research projects:

DC1 – Multi-frequency GNSS-R signal processing 

DC2 – Investigation of advanced reflectometry instrumental concepts with simulated scattered signals 

DC3 – developing an RF electronic system able to synchronize coherently signals received on different Cubesats 

DC4 – Calibration of GNSS-R products for soil moisture using drone-borne radar 

DC5 – Grazing angle GNSS-R for precise altimetry 

DC6 – Calibration and drone-scale experiments 

DC7 – Deployment and control of a distributed telescope as a formation of nanosatellites 

DC8 – GNSS-R signals acquisition and ranging 

DC9 – Cubesat system 

DC10 – Space-compliant front-end RF electronics 

DC11 – Antenna technology 

DC12 – CubeSat advanced Bayesian analysis and optimisation 

 

Description of the project concerned by this offer (DC7): Deployment and Control of a Distributed Telescope as a Formation of Nanosatellites

Global Navigation Satellite Systems-based Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is a powerful way to retrieve information from a reflecting surface (for Earth observation) by exploiting GNSS as signals of opportunity. While a more traditionally way of realizing such solutions would consider larger satellites hosting cumbersome antennas on the receiver side, the main goal of this research project is to replace them by many small satellites, i.e., micro- or nano-satellites or even CubeSats, carrying one smaller antenna each. Such satellites are known to be orders of magnitude cheaper and easy to launch. The antennas located on each satellite will create an array and, if the cubesats are properly synchronised, the combined signals from the array elements will form a beam toward the reflection zone on the surface. However, that requires a suitable control approach to form and maintain the required formations of the spacecrafts with high precision.

 

This PhD project aims at the development of an improved distributed control of such formations of small satellites, also using a combination of solar and aerodynamic forces for propellant-less control. This will be ideal to deploy, maintain and reconfigure cost-efficiently a large formation of small satellites but requires the detailed modelling of the satellite dynamics, including the effects of aerodynamic forces (caused by the residual atmosphere in LEO) and the solar radiation pressure. After an analysis of optimal formation geometries for Earth observation, suitable orbital guidance and attitude control approaches will be developed and tested, using advanced simulation tools as well as formation flight experiments on a smaller scale with drones. These flight tests will also provide a better understanding of the level of control needed to achieve satisfactory beamforming.

 

The PhD candidate will do a research stay (6 months) at the Université catolique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, to work with Prof. Christophe Craeye, lead of the GLITTER project, on RF synchronization between satellites and the impact on formation control.

 

Application Process:

The application process will be open until May 18 at noon, Europe Continental Time. The applications received after this date will not be evaluated.

Early application is highly encouraged, as the applications will be processed upon reception. Please apply formally through the HR system of the University of Luxembourg (https://recruitment.uni.lu ). Applications by email will not be considered. All the application must be in English. Applications received in another language will not be considered!

 

Please provide the following items, all in pdf format:

• Curriculum Vitae, including:

• Contact address
• For each degree received or currently enrolled in, provide the degree, institution name, institution city and country, and date (or expected date) of graduation.
• List of publications (authors, title, journal/conference name and date of publication). Provide a link in case of open access
• portfolio of skills and projects
• Name, affiliation and contact details of three referees

• Transcript of all modules and results from university-level courses taken
• Cover letter with motivations (approx. 1 page)

 

Questions regarding the recruitment can be sent to [email protected] .

 

About the Host Institution:

 

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University’s faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its “international outlook,” #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

 

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg is a leading international research and innovation centre in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT systems and services. We play an instrumental role in Luxembourg by fueling innovation through research partnerships with industry, boosting R&D investments leading to economic growth, and attracting highly qualified talent.

 

The SnT Automation & Robotics Research Group is a strong and motivated research team led by Prof. Holger Voos. The group focuses on situational awareness and advanced control in the automation of complex systems such as autonomous vehicles and robots or space systems, see https://www.uni.lu/snt-en/research-groups/ARG/

 

 

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Aerospace engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Engineering » Electrical engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

ENGLISH

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

University of Luxembourg

Country

Luxembourg

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

http://emea3.mrted.ly/3n4ks

Contact

State/Province

Grand Duché de Luxembourg

City

Luxembourg

Website

http://www.uni.lu

Street

2, avenue de l'Université

Postal Code

4365

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED