Mission Operations Lead

The University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) Space Systems Division is recruiting a new Mission Operations Lead for the FINCH CubeSat mission. The Mission Operations Lead will head the OPS team, producing artifacts related to mission operations, collecting and redistributing requirements/specifications from other systems, and managing mission operations post-launch.

Overview of Responsibilities

Mission Operations is responsible for the following major milestones in the mission:

• Spacecraft Modes of Operation: Defining broad domains of operation for the spacecraft which encompass the major tasks performed in the mission, as well as governing the criteria to switch from one mode to another.
• Spacecraft Command Sequences: Expanding Spacecraft Modes of Operation to individually executable operations by the spacecraft’s onboard computer, developing criteria for moving from one operation to another and how each modes work.
• Mission Simulation: Simulating the FINCH mission using an STK which incorporates as many aspects of the spacecraft as possible (e.g. ADCS dynamics model, optical camera model, thermal model, radiation model)
• FINCH Command Menu: developping a list of commands to be sent from ground and their format. For example these can include changing and scheduling a mode of operation, or uplinking a specific software patch.
• FINCH Ops Error Checklist: developing a mission operations handbook of direct actions (checklists) given potential errors that may happen during the mission.
• FINCH Mission Control: developing a UI for sending commands to FINCH and receiving telemetry. Post launch, the mission ops team is responsible for operating the spacecraft!

OPS is NOT responsible for the following areas:

• Ground Station design - this is done by the RF team
• Regulatory licensing (e.g. RF licenses, GAC)
• Launch provider negotiation — this should be handled by the systems lead

The Mission Operations lead is responsible for taking the above milestones, breaking them into tasks for members to do (plus changing the milestones and scope as needed). The mission ops team is interdisciplinary, meaning that we work with a variety of teams. It is up to the lead to determine how to delegate work in a manner which suits the backgrounds of the members on the team, and recruit new members where there is a gap in knowledge.

At the same time, the mission operations lead should be closely synced with the systems lead and mission core leads to get a good understanding of the spacecraft and mission. Frequent and regular meetings are a must for this role.

Key Systems to Interact With

• The entirety of mission core