Project Description:

• The aim of this project is to offer undergraduate university students the opportunity to gain industry-relevant, hands-on experience in working with satellite payload design. An engineering model of the payload has been developed and was tested at the European Space Agency in Belgium in April 2023. Building on the vibration testing campaign results, the structure was redesigned, and the subsequent finite element analysis of the vibration response for the new design needs to be performed. As a part of this, work is likely to involve vibration testing on an in-house shaker table, to allow validation of the results of the finite element model.

  The candidate would be integrated into the university’s CubeSat research group which meets regularly once a week. This work will contribute to development of our volcano imaging mission which the University hopes to launch soon.

• Find out more about SPIN and explore FAQs here.

Applicant Specification:

Technical

The candidate must show an interest in space and a curiosity about satellites. They must have a good understanding of finite element analysis and know, or be willing to learn quickly, the Abaqus software that is used in our team.

The candidate will develop practical skills like use of a vibration apparatus for testing. The applicant will also need to have or demonstrate they can quickly acquire data analysis skills to evaluate the test results and compare them to the model. This can involve any standard package such as Matlab, Python or R.

Human

The applicant will work closely with both staff and students based at the University of Bristol. They will also be working with and gaining feedback from experts with first-hand knowledge of the space sector. They will be contributing to the University of Bristol Satellite project. They will report on results and write up their work as they go along, producing a summary at the end of the internship. This will also contribute to the material for a posterat the SPIN showcase, contributing to their communication skills. This project has an ongoing commitment to outreach for young people in the local area and the intern will be involved in contributing to this effort (training will be given) thus developing their outreach skills.

Minimum requirements:

• Studying for a bachelors or master’s degree in electronics/aerospace/space engineering/physics

• Basic knowledge of engineering design and test

• Proven motivation to work in the space domain

• Ability to communicate effectively both written and verbally

Desirable requirements

• Experience of space projects

• Experience of finite element analysis / Abaqus software

• Experience of data analysis

• Experience of experimental testing

• Experience of working in teams

Process details:

• 8 weeks minimum fixed term contract to be agreed with successful candidate

• In-person Induction Event to be held on 24 Jun 2024, and an in-person/hybrid Showcase Event to be held in October 2024 (date TBD)

• 5 days holiday to be taken during the placement

This job description set outs the skills and experience we believe are needed to be able to do this job but, research also tells us women are much more likely than men to take this list of requirements as absolute and self-select out of the process. If you think you can deliver this role then we want to hear from you, regardless of the boxes you didn’t tick.