Internship - Space Physics - In-Orbit Perturbations of Spacecraft

Description de l'offre

Internship - Space Physics - In-Orbit Perturbations of Spacecraft

Airbus Defence & Space Toulouse (ex Astrium SL)

Airbus Group is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2015, the Group - comprising Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters - generated revenues of € 64.5 billion and employed a workforce of around 136,600.

Our people work with passion and determination to make the world a more connected, safer and smarter place. Taking pride in our work, we draw on each other's expertise and experience to achieve excellence. Our diversity and teamwork culture propel us to accomplish the extraordinary - on the ground, in the sky and in space.

Description of the job

Airbus Defence and Space (Toulouse) is looking for an intern for a 5 / 6-month internship. This internship will start in February / March 2017 (subject to some flexibility) and will take place within the Space Physics Team of Airbus Defence and Space.

During normal flight conditions, Earth orbiting spacecraft are subjected to a variety of perturbing forces and torques produced by the influence of the Sun and the planets. In order to evaluate the effects on the trajectory and attitude, it is necessary to model the interactions of the spacecraft with its environment. The Solar radiation pressure is the major perturbation caused by light fluxes incident on the spacecraft. In a lesser extent one has also to consider the albedo (solar flux reflection on Earth) and infrared radiation pressure of the Earth. In addition, the Earth atmosphere is another important contributor of satellite perturbations at low altitudes (

Profil recherché

Tasks & accountabilities

The aim of this internship is to develop new software modules which can be used to evaluate the various contributors of the in-orbit perturbations and perform analyses and comparison with in-orbit information. These development and analyses shall take into account the spacecraft geometry, the physical properties of the surfaces, the spacecraft orbit / attitude and the characteristics of the environment (solar flux, albedo coefficient, ambient atmosphere density…).

The developed modules will mainly rely on the existing software Systema-Thermica, which is the state of art for spacecraft thermal analysis.
This software handles currently a representative geometry and mission to compute the solar and planet thermal flux received by a spacecraft. It will be modified to evaluate the impact of the residual atmosphere and perform analyses on solar pressure impact on telecommunications satellites.

Required skills

We are looking for candidates with the following skills and experience:

·  You are in the last year of a Master's degree in Physics with an Aerospace background.
·  Good knowledge in Space Physics and Space environment.
·  Proven knowledge/experience of Software Development.
·  Good programming skills, preferably in C/C++ and Python.
·  Knowledge of Thermica would be a plus.
·  Proficient in the Microsoft Office suite (Excel).
·  You are curious, autonomous and have excellent interpersonal skills.
·  You have a negotiation level in French and advanced level in English.