The Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) invites university engineering students to join the Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Communications Training Course 2022, which will take place at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility from the 20th to 23rd of September 2022. The deadline for applications is 2 August 2022.

This technical course without excessive mathematics or technical jargon, will show students how ‘driving’ a spacecraft is different from designing it. When it comes to spacecraft, it is the launch itself that grabs all the headlines. Once in orbit, we only tend to hear about the satellite again when it returns a great result or a spectacular image. But spacecraft do not take care of themselves on their own. People working in operations are the ones who work 24/7 to ensure that the spacecraft is healthy, returning the most data, and functioning at peak efficiency. In addition, these operators diagnose problems with satellites and work out how to make them function properly again.

 Taught by an experienced engineer who works for the Operations Department of ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, the course will be delivered through formal lectures but with a heavy emphasis placed on the interaction with the students.

Real stories of operational staff will be used whenever appropriate.

“If you want to really understand how a spacecraft works this is the right course. It goes through all the sub-systems in a way that makes you understand the connection between everything on that spacecraft. All in all it is the perfect opportunity for anyone who is interested in working in the space industry,” said an engineering student from Romania who participated in a previous edition of the training course.

In addition to the lectures, the students will need to apply their gained knowledge during a challenging group project. The students will also visit ESA’s European space Security and Education Centre (ESEC) and learn about the on-site activities, including Galileo and PROBA spacecraft’s operations.

More details here.

Image credit: ESA