Internship - Cubesat System Engineering

Since its introduction, the CubeSat has managed to disrupt the space industry and has managed to come of age. It is now able to act as the necessary infrastructure for commercial companies wanting to offer data services and cost-effective platforms for various applications. We are looking for an intern to support with system engineering activities related to several topics: space debris mitigation, future mission development and our internal power budget tool. The exact scope of the assignment can be adjusted to the timeline of the internship as well as the experience and interest of the intern.

Space debris mitigation
As the number of CubeSats in low Earth orbit (LEO) continues to grow, the need for sustainable practices becomes more urgent. At the same time, regulations on end-of-life procedures are becoming increasingly strict. Therefore, next generation CubeSat designs need to align with global space sustainability goals while minimizing disruptions to the CubeSat development mindset. Several topics of high importance are stated below;

• De-orbit assessments to prove compliancy with orbital clearance requirements.
• Simulations to confirm the demisability of CubeSats as well as the on-ground casualty risk.
• Study towards improved space surveillance and collision avoidance techniques.
• Reliability assessment of successful spacecraft passivation and re-entry.

Future mission design
ISISPACE is often performing studies towards future missions which are pushing the boundaries of what CubeSats can do. For these future missions, preliminary feasibility assessment requires to be performed. Several examples are stated below;

• Mission analyses.
• Analysis of system budgets (power, data, mass,…).
• Support with spacecraft architecture definition.

Power budget tool
For spacecraft and mission design, the power budget is an essential analysis to perform. ISISPACE has been working with an internally designed Excel based tool for multiple years. While the tool is working well, several improvements have been identified that need to be implemented. This ranges from implementing and correcting different attitude models to a solar array shading analysis. The assignment would consist of implementing such features as well as their verification.

• Currently doing a MSc. in Aerospace or other relevant subject.
• Experience/knowledge of 2 or more of the 3 subjects (space debris, mission development, satellite power budget).
• Excellent and straightforward communication skills in English.
• Energetic team player with a positive and open mindset.
• Solid organizational skills, including attention to detail and multi-tasking skills.

Duration and Preliminary Planning
This internship is an approximate 3 to 6 month full-time period supervised by ISISPACE in Delft. The following rough planning is applicable, but will be discussed with the candidate:

• First month Introduction to company, definition of assignment scope.
• Middle months Support in system engineering activities.
• Last month Reporting.