Projects: Cyprus GOVSATCOM, IRIS2, OGS (Optical Ground Segment) for telecommunications.

Prometheus is a start-up focusing on thermal IR imaging from space. Prometheus will design, implement, launch, and operate a constellation of satellites that will provide 20 m/pix resolution in thermal IR wavelengths.In addition, Prometheus is implementing a prototype: a drone carrying an optical and an IR thermal image.More details in my website: https://danielrisquezcom.wordpress.com/

Translation of technical documentation, from English to Spanish. Part-time.

Working at the premises of the client: EUMETSAT.(Initially at Moltek Ltd, later CS Gmbh)I worked on the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program, the development of the next generation of European Meteorological satellites on geostationary orbit.I contributed to its Preliminary Design (phase B), Critical Design (phase C), and Integration (phase D). Following ECSS.I performed the following tasks:- Service Manager of the “MTG System Engineering Service”. Tasks: Contact person between the Service and EUMETSAT, supervise Work Packages for the team, review deliveries.- Coordinate interfaces between different teams (System team, Ground Segment team, dissemination team, archive, monitoring data processing, instrument experts), and contribution to related Interface Control Documents (ICDs).- Coordinator of the MTG baseline of products: product sizes, periodicities, timeliness, dissemination mechanisms, data rates.- Implement the netCDF formatting module of the FCI Reference Processor. This software simulates the main MTG instrument, for testing algorithms, generation of test data, validation of facilities. In Matlab and using SVN and Git.- Generate test data related to MTG instruments (FCI, LI, IRS), in netCDF format, regarding IVV and user familiarisation activities. In Python, Matlab, and C.

I worked on different aspects related to the Gaia project, an ESA scientific mission.During its development, phase C (Critical Design) and D (Integration).- My main duty was to develop a simulation of the attitude of Gaia. This work is performed in collaboration with the Institute of Astronomy (IoA, Cambridge, UK) and the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM, Bremen, Germany). The model simulates all important related systems (Attitude Control System, sensors, thrusters) and disturbances (solar radiation, micrometeoroids, thermal radiation). The aim was to understand the spacecraft attitude because perturbations could introduce noise in the scientific results. Implemented in Java, using SVN and Eclipse.- I analysed the expected radiation damage in the CCDs, the effect in the scientific observations of the degradation of the detector. This is one of the critical issues for the Gaia mission.- I collaborated in the First Look, the software that receives Gaia data in near real time, and provides an assessment of its quality. Specifically, I implemented quality tests to the spectrometer instrument.

I worked on OMC, the Optical Monitoring Camera on-board INTEGRAL, an ESA mission.INTEGRAL is a space observatory dedicated to high energy (gamma and X-rays), and OMC provided observations of the optical counterparts.The mission was operational (phase E in the context of System Engineering).- My main duty was to study and perform the calibration. This was the official calibration of a space telescope on-board an ESA mission.- Monitoring the degradation of the instrument during operations (radiation damage). Analysis of its effect in different instrument parameters (dark current, pixel sensitivity, lenses opacity).- Check instrument housekeeping, report anomalies.- Development of software for non-nominal observations (Targets Of Opportunity)- Data processing: reprocess the full archive after improving algorithms, assess quality ofalgorithms.- Contribution to INTEGRAL Galactic Bulge Monitoring: process data and provide scientific results in near real-time. https://integral.esac.esa.int/BULGE/- Prepare technical documentation, give presentations about OMC in workshops and congresses.- Outreach, example: https://web.tresorit.com/l/jRwdl#6zYJwIoSga1e5LiTIUgdeA- Follow-up of relevant sources with on-ground telescopes, like the 1.5-meter at CAHA and the 4.2-meter WHT.

User help desk: hardware & software installation, mail configuration, network configuration, etc.