The Space Flight Technology Division of the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) supports satellite and sounding rocket missions operated by the facility. On the one hand, it provides the necessary flight dynamics services and, on the other hand, researches and develops innovative technologies for the operation of space missions. This includes work in the areas of GNSS-based navigation of satellites as well as sounding rockets and launch vehicles, on-orbit servicing (OOS), space situational awareness (SSA) and on-board autonomous sensor data evaluation.

The ability to determine the position of a satellite autonomously in real time with high accuracy and reliability is an essential component of future mission architectures consisting of one or more satellites, e.g. for the purpose of earth observation, navigation or on-orbit servicing. To support our research projects and ongoing projects, we are looking for a research assistant for the design, construction and testing of GNSS-based navigation systems as of October 1, 2023. Among other things, you will support the development and flight testing of a navigation system for a 12U nanosatellite, which will be launched into space from Norway.

In detail, you will work on the following tasks:

• Architectural design of autonomous GNSS-based navigation systems for single and multi-satellite systems
• Development of navigation algorithms and implementation on a real-time computer
• Selection of suitable system components (GNSS receiver, antennas, etc.)
• Planning, implementation and evaluation of environmental tests of system component candidates
• Setup of prototype systems and testing using an existing GNSS signal simulator
• Design and setup of a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) test environment
• Preparation and scientific evaluation of flight experiments
• Creation of scientific publications in refereed journals and participation in national and international conferences