Project Description:

Active debris removal (ADR) and in-orbit servicing (IOS) missions rely on knowledge of spacecraft attitude behaviour for the safe execution of close proximity operations. Attitude motion estimates are key down-selection criteria for identifying potential removal clients and informing capture mechanism design on ADR spacecraft. The objective of this activity is to investigate attitude state estimation methods for photometric data, to support spacecraft and mission design for active debris removal and in-orbit servicing missions. Activities for this project include:

• Literature review of light curve analysis techniques (including machine learning for characterisation)

• Comparative analysis of existing rotational analysis techniques to determine relative strengths and weaknesses of classical signal processing algorithms

• Recommendations on how this work may be extended to determine spin axis orientation and more general attitude estimation, by looking at more complex methods incorporating spacecraft dynamics or more subtle relationships in the data.

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Applicant Specification:

• Academic: Background in scientific subject (physics, astrophysics, engineering, etc.)

Minimum requirements:

• Quick learner and curious about space related subjects

• Good research skills and critical thinking

• Good time management and organisational skills

Desirable requirements:

• Good understanding of basic principles in astrophysics, aerodynamics and/or related disciplines

• Some experience in coding (in particular Python)

Process details:

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

• 5 days holiday to be taken during the placement

Company Summary

Deimos Space UK is located on the Harwell Oxford campus and offers expertise in the following areas:

• Flight Systems

• Ground Systems

• Space Situational Awareness

• Satellite Navigation

• Applications & Services

In terms of the Space Situational Awareness domain, Deimos Space UK has capabilities across the entire Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) chain, including the operation of its own optical sensors located at the company’s SST centre, Deimos Sky Survey. By operating a complete SST system, the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) team has gained an in-depth understanding of the dependencies that exist within the chain, facilitating the improvement and upgrade of these. These capabilities have allowed Deimos UK to develop, and coordinate the integration of, optical sensors for SST activities, while also contributing software solutions for complex SST systems such as coordination of observations and processing of observations down to orbital/catalogue computation.