Stardust-R  (http://www.stardust-network.eu) is a H2020 Marie Curie ITN-ETN project, coordinated by Strathclyde University (UK), involving a total of 22 partners from the EU, US and Japan, including (among others) agencies, large companies and research institutions such as ESA, CNES, DLR, Airbus DS. The high-level objective of this project is to address the growing need for a sustainable exploration of space, the resilience of the space environment, the threats and opportunities coming from asteroids and comets and the compelling need for properly trained specialists who can tackle these issues.

Within this project, TU Delft is involved in collaboration with Hyperion BV to jointly host a PhD candidate. The project will kick off in January 2019 and the expected starting date for the PhD is October 2019.

The TU Delft/Hyperion PhD research will mainly focus on: assessing the applicability of available miniaturized star trackers to small satellite autonomous navigation algorithms; studying the orbit/trajectory control capabilities of deep-space CubeSats equipped with micro-propulsion; trade-off existing micro-propulsion options and identify the most promising ones for orbit/trajectory control of deep-space CubeSats; design a complete navigation/AOCS subsystem for deep-space CubeSats and verify it with Hardware-in-the-loop testing. 

Mandatory duties of the PhD candidate will include a 3-months secondment at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) at the end of the second year, plus all other activities planned within the project (training events, outreach activities, collaboration with other researchers, etc.)

Applicants should have a Master degree from a renowned institution in mechanical, aerospace or energy engineering, or another technical area deemed relevant for the proposed research. Strong motivation, creativity, and proactivity are required. Good interpersonal communication skills are necessary in order to properly integrate into the fairly large, diverse and international team. Applicants must be fluent in English (English supervision).

In compliance to the H2020 requirements for Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions, the applicant shall be a postgraduate researcher in the first four full-time equivalent years of research training activity, and must not have resided in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the last 3 years.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

The PhD candidate will work within the European Stardust-R project and be appointed at two partners in this program for a total period of four years. After the first year an evaluation will take place to review the doctoral candidate’s progress, to assess whether the candidate is likely to complete the Doctoral Programme successfully.

Hyperion BV will formally appoint the PhD candidate in the 1st and 2nd year of the PhD, and fully pay his/her salary. However, the selection procedure and related formalities such as determination of the employment conditions, will be under the responsibility of TU Delft and will be conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures defined by the Stardust-R consortium.

During these two years, the candidate will also have a desk at TU Delft, spending on average 1 day/week there with a guest status. He/she will enroll in the Graduate School and meet all the related formalities (including orange light/go-no go meetings and the Doctoral Education program).

The salary indication concerns gross amounts. In addition, you are entitled to an 8% vacation allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.  The salary  is determined in accordance with the classification guidelines of TU Delft. The living allowance mentioned in the EC documentation (the Work Programme for instance) include the provisions for all compulsory deductions under national applicable legislation. That means that the living allowance is not just your gross salary, but additionally includes the compulsory employers’ contributions.

TU Delft will formally appoint the candidate in the 3rd and 4th year, and fully pay his/her salary in this period. During these two years, the candidate will also have a desk at Hyperion BV and spend on average 1 day/week there with a guest status.

Faculty Aerospace Engineering

The faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology is one of the world's largest faculties devoted entirely to aerospace engineering. In the Netherlands it is the only research and education institute directly related to the aerospace engineering sector. It covers the whole spectrum of aerospace engineering subjects. In aeronautics, the faculty covers subjects ranging from aerodynamics and flight propulsion to structures and materials and from control and simulation to air transport and operations. In astronautics, topics include astrodynamics, space missions and space systems engineering. The faculty has around 2,700 BSc and MSc students, 225 PhD candidates and 27 professors supported by scientific staff.
The faculty's mission is to be the best Aerospace Engineering faculty in the world, inspiring and educating students through modern education techniques and enabling staff to perform ambitious research of the highest quality for the future of aerospace. The working atmosphere at the faculty is friendly, open-minded and dedicated.

The Department of Space Engineering of TU Delft provides education and research to advance the frontiers of space systems and missions, spaceflight and planetary science for the benefit of society. The Department has two research groups: Astrodynamics and Space Missions; Space Systems Engineering. It runs an integrated research program comprising miniaturization, distributed space systems, mission analysis and orbits, space propulsion, ascent & re-entry, planetary exploration. Hyperion Technologies BV is a SME specialized in the development of components, mainly for small satellites, including miniaturized star trackers, sun sensors and propulsion systems. Hyperion premises include a laboratory space, where in-house development of mechanics, software and electronics are carried out.

https://www.tudelft.nl/en/ae/