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ESA's Spacecraft Managers Contain The 'Right Stuff'
Paris, France (ESA) Nov 22, 2006 They have a passion for space and are among the best engineers anywhere, managing missions worth billions of euro. But above all, ESA's Spacecraft Operations Managers are team leaders, working to motivate people and manage complex systems on the cutting edge of human knowledge. The successful launch and operation of any ESA mission requires a multi-disciplinary team working right across the agency and supported by industry and academia. However, it is the Spacecraft Operations Manager, the ubiquitous 'SOM', who is immediately responsible for day-to-day flight activities and for solving the myriad problems that inevitably arise when complex spacecraft voyage into the Solar System. About 19 men and women are presently working as SOMs on current and future ESA missions, comprising some of the most talented and qualified engineers in Europe. A SOM is assigned to each ESA mission, and he/she assembles a group of spacecraft engineers in each of the specialist areas, including power, thermal, telemetry and telecommand, to become the Flight Control Team, or FCT. "SOMs must form a team and then take responsibility; they must really care. You are responsible to both internal and external customers and your mission might be valued between about 400 million and 1 billion euro. We don't want to lose any of these missions, so the flight control team must be highly motivated and it's the SOM who makes that happen," says Manfred Warhaut, Head of ESA's Missions Operations Department at the agency's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.
Career as SOM includes education and experience There is no fixed path to becoming a SOM; while leadership and fundamental technical skills are shared in common, their educational and career backgrounds are as varied as ESA's expanding range of space missions demands. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links ESA All about the technology of space and more The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry
Orbital Awarded Contract For Commercial Communications Satellite By SES NEW SKIES
Dulles VA (SPX) Nov 21, 2006Orbital Sciences has been selected by SES NEW SKIES of the Netherlands, to design, build and deliver the NSS-9 commercial communications satellite. This satellite will be based on Orbital's flight-proven STAR 2 platform, which will generate 2.3 kilowatts of payload power and carry 28 active transponders. |
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