2 Postdoctoral Research Associates in Astrodynamics and Autonomous GNC

University of Liverpool is seeking two enthusiastic and motivated individuals to work within the School of Engineering, on a project funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in planetary defence to protect our planet from asteroid hazards. Your role is to deliver and validate an onboard astrodynamics GNC software for autonomous proximity operations around minor celestial bodies. The project is named REMORA - Rendezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids: a fleet of self-driven CubeSats for tracking and characterising asteroids (£1.9m). The REMORA project will lay the foundation for the development of a “space-based early warning system” of a swarm of micro satellites each to individually tag asteroids that could hit the Earth.

The post supports the award of a Fellowship to Dr Stefania Soldini to develop onboard GNC software for autonomous CubeSats operating in the weak gravity field of asteroids. The work is primarily computational and experimental (hardware-in-the-loop testing). You will have a PhD, (or about to obtain), in a relevant area (e.g., astrodynamics, engineering, applied maths or physics) and have experience with astrodynamics and/or autonomous navigation (e.g. optical navigation techniques and machine learning) and/or orbit determination. A proven track record in trajectory design and optimisation are highly required. Track record of experimental (e.g. air-bearing spacecraft simulator) work in autonomous navigation and/or mission operations is desirable. Experience with numerical and semi-analytical methods in astrodynamics is essential. Willingness to set-up a new experimental facility and learn new skills is an essential personal attribute.