ESA’s Education Office is inviting university students to apply for the inspiring upcoming CubeSat Hands-On Training Week to get the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills on spacecraft hardware and software. The CubeSat Hands-On Training Week 2023 will be held from the 5th to 9th of June at the ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Transinne, Belgium.
Space conditions at ESEC Galaxia
Space conditions at ESEC Galaxia
This Training Week is a great opportunity for university students to get hands-on experience with CubeSats and to apply theoretical knowledge obtained from classroom lectures. Students will have the opportunity to perform experiments on Educational Satellites (ESAT) and learn how subsystems work and interact with each other. They will also discover how to conduct Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV), and how to handle tests using real hardware. The aim of the Training Week is to help students that have innovative ideas for educational CubeSat missions, or are working on CubeSat projects at a conceptual or preliminary stage. As an outcome, students will be able to inject the new knowledge gained from the training week into the early design phase of their CubeSat projects.
Trainer giving an introduction to ESAT educational models to university students
Trainer giving an introduction to ESAT educational models to university students
The focus throughout the Training Week, will be on hand-on learning with ‘’lab sessions’’ supervised by staff from Theia Space, which will be complemented by lectures on the various fields of CubeSat subsystems, testing and operations, delivered by ESA experts. As such, this Training Week is an ideal opportunity for students to become familiar with the Fly Your Satellite! programme.
During the lab sessions, students will have the opportunity to work in groups of two on their own ESAT model provided by the ESA’s Education Office. These are 10cm x 10cm x 10cm models (similar to a 1U CubeSat) developed by Theia Space, with the specific aim of providing university students with hands-on experience.
Before coming to ESEC-Galaxia, the selected students will be required to perform some preliminary activities (reading material and exercises) for a duration of no more than 5 hours to better prepare for this Training Week.
Preliminary Schedule
Day 1 Welcome and Introduction
Fly Your Satellite! Programme and System Engineering Principles - Lecture
Introduction to ESAT model - Lab Session
Software – Lecture & Lab Session
Day 2 Software – Lab Session
On-Board Data Handling (OBDH) - Lecture & Lab Session
Day 3 Electrical Power System (EPS) - Lecture & Lab Session
Communication - Lecture
Day 4 Attitude Determination Control System (ADCS) – Lecture & Lab Session
Assembly, Integration and Verification & Testing – Lecture & Lab Session
Day 5 Spacecraft Operations - Lecture & Lab Session
Conclusion
