ESA Graduate Trainee in the Space Safety Programme - Clean Space Office

Our team and mission

The ESA Space Safety Programme Office takes care of all potential hazards from space or in space, which can impact human activities on Earth or again in space. The spectrum of tasks ranges from gathering the basic understanding of space hazards originating from our Sun, from man-made space debris, or from asteroids potentially colliding with the Earth. It also addresses basic approaches to mitigate these hazards and to implement space systems end-to-end in a sustainable and eco-compatible way. Moreover, several corner stone missions are underway to demonstrate basic methods of space weather forecasting, asteroid deflection and active space debris removal from orbit.

ESA’s Clean Space initiative aims to protect the environment on Earth and in space and ensure continued access to space for future generations.

The team’s work is focused on the three following areas:

• Ecodesign for Space: providing a framework for embedding environmental sustainability within space mission design, to define goals to achieve the objective of a Green Space through the development and usage of green technologies;
• End-of-Life Management: developing technologies to prevent the creation of future debris and implementing system activities to promote their integration in future missions, striving to achieve solutions for a Zero debris approach for ESA missions by 2030;
• In-Orbit Servicing: enabling commercial missions aiming at servicing other satellites, through active debris removal, repairing, refuelling or even recycling, as the cornerstone for a vital new European business.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA Clean Space blog: blogs.esa.int/cleanspace and the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will support the office on the research and implementation in the different Clean Space different themes, namely: ecodesign, management of end of life and active debris removal and in orbit servicing.

You will contribute to the topic of ecodesign on:

• setting up the scene by supporting the improvement of LCA framework;
• understanding and summarising the environmental impacts of ESA missions and projects by the review of LCA models (e.g. Copernicus Expansion missions, Galileo Transition Satellite);
• enhancing LCA and EcoDesign methodology within ESA and member states.

In the topic of end-of-life management, you will support:

• the development of the Zero-debris approach and the assessment of impacts at system level;
• the development of End-of-life technologies;
• The Zero Debris system level activities (i.e. platform, technologies).

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in aerospace engineering.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.