I am pleased to have a good reason to return to the far north of Europe!
Over 20 years ago I led a team at Newcastle University developing the onboard data handling system for a pan-European student designed and built satellite, a project initiated by the Education Office at ESA. We collaborated with a similar team of students at Luleå Tekniska Universitet who worked on the data interfaces, digital harness using CANbus (long before it became popular for cubesats), and real time software.
In most of my career since those student days I have been involved in the end-to-end responsibility for data delivery, processing, transformation, and top level system interfaces.
This semester I have returned to Kiruna’s Space Campus – nearby the Esrange operational site – as visiting professor to lead teaching of a course on Onboard Data Handling systems for 3 degree programmes, including the SpaceMaster.
The course has started near the end of the only 3 months in the year when the region is not covered with snow, so it looks very different to how I remember it. By the time we reach the revision class before the exam – the world here will be again completely white, with the dark green of the endless forests peeking through.
While I love the far north, I am also open to opportunities to teach in other beautiful places 😉