1 Introduction
The 2nd Young Engineers' Satellite project (YES2) is an ESA
initiated space education project which started in 2002. The
objective of the YES2 spaceman project is to:
Create enthusiasm in students for space engineering and
motivate them to excel,
by awareness of, competing for, creating and operating a highly
visible yet
inherently safe space experiment.
The first phase of YES2 (2002-2003) focused on the concept design
of An Inherently Reentry vehicle (AIR) and the building and
testing of a tether deployment mechanism. During this phase,
over 400 students from 29 universities were reached with more
than 100 students actively participating in initial design contests.
The preliminary YES2 system design resulting from this first
project phase is documented in YES2-PDR-DU-03. Phase I ends
with the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) taking place at ESA/ESTEC
on December 10th and 11th 2003.
After PDR, the YES2 project will enter phase II which will see
a detailed design of the different subsystems, leading up to
the building and testing of the actual space hardware. For this
second phase, a stronger project focus and associated management
structure is required to successfully achieve a detailed design
and to start building the test hardware for a flight on Foton-M3
in autumn 2006. Such a project focus and structure will also
allow a better visibility of the YES2 project both within the
educational field and to the public at large. Delta-Utec SRC
has therefore identified 5 YES2 Centers of Expertise at universities
where, in co-operation with Delta-Utec SRC, most of the YES2
development work will be performed. These 5 YES2 Centers of
Expertise (CoE) are:
o Kent (UK)
o Patras (Greece)
o Reggio Emilia (Italy)
o Remagen (Germany)
o Samara (Russia)
The Center of Expertise (CoE) philosophy will help to:
Achieve the educational goal of the YES2 project by strengthening
the relationship
between the ESA Education office, Delta-Utec SRC and European
universities
Provide continuity to the YES2 development and expertise by
formalizing a project
structure which can better appropriate typical group projects,
internships or
master thesis periods for individual YES2 students. Supervision
and involvement of
a (PhD) student or Professor in the individual CoE is therefore
foreseen.
It is the intention of the ESA Education office in case of a
successful implementation of the YES2 Centers of Expertise to
extend in the future the concept to general ESA (educational)
Centers of Expertise.
This document describes the concept of the Centers of Expertise.
For a more detailed description on the tasks of each CoE we
kindly refer to [YES2-PDR-DU-05] and the Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) and Work Package Description (WPD).
2 Center of Expertise set-up
This section describes the structural set up of the YES2 Centers
of Expertise. The geographical location of the 5 Centers of
Expertise is provided in Figure 1. The Centers of Expertise
are located throughout Europe and Russia at Universities which
have already been involved in the first phase of the YES2 project
with student assignments, group projects etc. It is foreseen
that the Centers will become the main focal points of YES2 development
work for phase II and beyond. Students from other universities
throughout Europe are invited to these YES2 centers to perform
part of their curriculum (e.g. PhD, master thesis, internships
etc). A dedicated YES2 project room will be created at these
Centers where the YES2 project resides and where the students
have the facilities available to perform their work. By creating
a dedicated room, the YES2 project will become a lively team
effort at these Centers thereby allow the project to acquire
momentum and continuity beyond the individual assignments of
students. The Centers of Expertise will be supported by a responsible
from the university staff and a part-time employed (PhD) student
who will oversee the daily management of the YES2 Center. They
will maintain an overview of the different tasks being performed
at the Centers and will regularly interface with YES2 project
management at Delta-Utec. It is currently intended to have on
average more than 3 students working on YES2 in each Center
of Expertise. The Centers will be 'officially' opened in January/February
2004.
2.1 Centers of Expertise
The expertise and high level tasks of the individual Centers
within the YES2 project are depicted in Figure 2. In order to
visualize the position of each center within the YES2 project,
the phase II Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is repeated here
(Figure 3) (preliminary timeline TBD). Note that the WBS presents
the management outline. The more detailed task breakdown into
realistic student assignments will be coordinated between Delta-Utec
and the respective Centers of Expertise.
Figure 3 YES2 Phase
II Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
2.1.1 CoE Kent
The electronics department of the University of Kent (UK) is
identified as the CoE on YES2 electronics. This Center of Expertise
is referred to as 'CoE Kent'. The initial contact person and
representative of CoE Kent is lecturer Dr. Rodney Buckland (rab@kent.ac.uk).
2.1.2 CoE Patras
The department of mechanical engineering (AML) of the University
of Patras (Greece) is identified as the CoE on YES2 mechanical
design. It is referred to as 'CoE Patras'. The initial contact
person of this CoE is Mr. Vavouliotis (PhD) (vavoul@mech.upatras.gr).
2.1.3 CoE Reggio Emilia
The mechanical department (DISMI) of the University of Reggio
Emilia (Italy) is identified as the CoE on the YES2 inflatable
capsule. It is referred to as 'CoE Reggio Emilia'. The contact
person and representative of this CoE is Prof. Eugenio Dragoni
(eugenio.dragoni@unimore.it).
2.1.4 CoE Remagen
The departments Remagen and Krefeld of the University of Koblenz
(Germany) are together identified as the CoE on the FLOYD tether
system and tether test rig. This Center of Expertise is referred
to as 'CoE Remagen'. The contact person and representative is
Prof. Ferdi Hermanns (herm@nns.de).
2.1.5 CoE Samara
The aerodynamics department of the Samara State Aerospace University
(SSAU, Russia) is identified as the CoE on the YES2 (aero) dynamics
and aerothermodynamics. This Center of Expertise is referred
to as 'CoE Samara'. The contact person and representative of
the CoE Samara is Prof. Igor Belokonov (acad@mb.ssau.ru).
2.2 CoE structure
2.2.1 Personnel
The YES2 Centers of Expertise will be responsible for the daily
management and continuity of their Centers. With the educational
character of the project, two different types of tasks can be
distinguished,
Educational task:
Students working at the Center of Expertise perform their work
on YES2 as part of their curriculum. The Center of Expertise
(i.e. university) will provide to the students the required
educational supervision, guidance and support. It will also
provide access to the university structure for support.
Management task:
The YES2 project will be an umbrella under which the students
perform their curriculum work. To keep consistency with YES2
project requirements (documentation, timelines etc.) the Centers
of Expertise will provide (part-time) management of the Center
and interface to Delta-Utec. Especially since the project is
on a tight schedule to meet the major milestones for a flight
on the FOTON-M3 mission end 2006, it is very important to have
good co-ordination and management of the Centers to successfully
appropriate students assignments in the overall YES2 project
timeline.
A proposed set up of the Center of Expertise structure is provided
in Figure 4.
The CoE responsible will be responsible for:
- Educational objective of the CoE
- Performance of the CoE tasks
- Provision of support within university
- Reaching the major milestones
- Distribution and spending of the available budget
- Interface with DU on task description etc
The CoE supervisor will be responsible for: Daily management
of CoE
- YES2 CoE facility, hardware, resources
- CoE interface to Delta-Utec management
Provision of YES2 documentation, setting up progress meetings,
reporting, etc
- System engineering overview (??)
Interface with Delta-Utec about student resources at Center
of Expertise, planning of student exchange etc.
Delta-Utec will provide overall YES2 management and system engineering
to all Centers of Expertise. Regular contact with the CoE supervisors
will secure a constructive and up to date control and supervision.
Some of the most important interfaces with the CoE's are listed
here:
- Task description management
- Organization of meetings, YES2 documentation
- Specific YES2 technical support to the students
- System engineering support in cooperation with CoE supervisors
- Cooperation with CoE's for placement of students
- YES2 budget allocation and control
How the tasks are appropriated within the Centers of Expertise
will be discussed and decided upon for each individual Center
of Expertise. The function of CoE responsible has to be fulfilled
by a university staff member (the CoE contact persons mentioned
before). The position of CoE supervisor is foreseen to be performed
by either a PhD student or a well-qualified master student (e.g.
as 6-month internship). The initial budget provided to the CoE's
is intended to pay a small salary to this CoE supervisor. In
case the CoE supervisor is replaced it should always be communicated
with Delta-Utec SRC. The details will be clarified for each
individual case after signature of the Letter of Intention.
A preliminary YES2 team structure is provided in Figure 5.
2.2.2 Facilities
Each CoE will provide an office, room or lab where the YES2
students have access. The CoE will also provide facilities for
the testing of YES2 hardware. It will be possible to either
lock the office or have a cupboard where subsystems can be locked
away. Each student at the CoE will have access to a PC with
an email account, Internet access and Microsoft Office (Word
and Excel). Also software licenses necessary for the expertise
(like FEM packages or PCB design software) should be available.
The students will have access to a telephone that allows international
phone calls.
2.2.3 Inventory Control
Each Center should have an excel sheet containing the inventory
control. Components or sub-systems for flight or bread boarding
shall be listed in the Excel sheet. Also lab equipment with
a value above 50 Euros shall be listed. An example of such a
table is provided below.
3 Budget
3.1 Budget allocation and control
Yes2 budget allocation for the Center of Expertise consists
of a YES2 hardware budget and an initial budget for setting
up the YES2 Center of Expertise.
3.1.1 YES2 hardware budget
Table 2 provides the ROM indication of the hardware budget for
the different Centers of Expertise (NOTE: ROM indication not
yet approved by ESA). Delta-Utec SRC will reserve a budget for
each task or component. This budget is presented in YES2-PDR-DU-05,
Management Design and Development plan.
The procedure for a CoE on spending this hardware budget is
as follows: A Request for Spenditure is provided to Delta-Utec
SRC by the CoE responsible (?) using the Request for Spenditure
template. This template contains a description of the item to
be purchased, the details of the manufacturer, the quotation
of the manufacturer including delivery time and if applicable
a discussion of alternatives. It will be evaluated whether Delta-Utec
DRC will purchase the item or the CoE after which Delta-Utec
SRC will reimburse the center. On approval by Delta-Utec SRC
the item can be purchased. No reimbursement can be guaranteed
in case the Request for Spenditure has not approved by Delta-Utec
SRC prior to purchase.
3.1.2 YES2 CoE set-up budget
Delta-Utec SRC will allocate an initial budget of 5 KEURO to
support the set-up of each Center of Expertise. An additional
5 KEURO is reserved for upgrading of the Centers when the major
needs have been identified (April 2004). This budget is primarily
meant to support hours spend on setting up and managing the
YES2 Center, e.g. providing a small salary to the CoE supervisor.
It is not intended for buying new computers and/or software
although the allocation is flexible and will be further discussed
between Delta-Utec SRC and the CoE's in the coming weeks. It
is intended to officially open the Centers in January and February
2004. Preparations already start before the YES2 PDR.
3.2 Additional budget
The Centers of Expertise are requested to pro-actively search
for additional budget to enable students to work on and travel
for YES2. This section provides some initial ideas. It is part
of the CoE supervisor task to oversee budget requirements, so
he/she is also encouraged to look for additional funding with
Delta-Utec support.
3.2.1 Leonardo Da Vinci, Socrates or National or University
grants
Many Universities have a department that arranges for students
to travel abroad or to receive foreign students for an internship
or partial study. The CoE supervisor is requested to discuss
opportunities for the YES2 Center.
3.2.2 Request EC for additional budget
Delta-Utec SRC will initiate a request for budget at the European
Commission. Education, innovation and network are keywords sensitive
for subsidizing. The Centers of Expertise will be involved in
case a proposal has to be written. Focus will be on supervision
of the YES2 students.
3.2.3 Request ESA Education office for additional budget
Two funding possibilities are identified at the ESA education
office
3.2.3.1 Affiliation
The CoE can request to the ESA education additional funding
for organizing YES2 related events [see http://www.estec.esa.nI/outreach/affiliation/1,
[XXX, TBC Inaki]. Examples are open days or work shops.
3.2.3.2 PhD plan
ESA will employ a plan to financially support PhD students.
It is suggested to have a PhD student apply for such a grant
in order to supervise YES2 locally. [XXX, contact person?]
3.2.4 Local or National industry sponsors
Local or National industries can be approached to sponsor with
money, man-hours or facilities the CoE.
4 Management
Delta-Utec SRC is prime contractor for the YES2 project and
is responsible for all materials and hardware to be delivered
under the ESA contract. It provides overall YES2 project management
and system engineering. The YES2 Centers of Expertise will be
responsible on a best effort basis for their assigned tasks
and deliverables.
4.1 WPD&WBS
The CoE responsible will be responsible for the definition and
maintenance of an up-to-date Work Break Down Structure (WBS)
and Work Package Description (WPD) of the Center of Expertise.
He/she is responsible for the accuracy of the WBS/WPD and has
to agree on all changes made to it.
4.2 Timeline
The CoE responsible will be responsible for a realistic and
up-to-date timeline for the tasks of the CoE. This timeline
shall include national holidays and exam periods at the University.
4.3 Reporting
In case there are arising problems in a task or in the timeline,
the CoE is invited to notify Delta-Utec SRC as soon as possible.
It is our shared responsibility to solve problems and delays.
4.4 Meetings & reviews
Each CoE should have a weekly meeting where the progress, timeline
and problem areas are discussed. Minutes of Meeting (MoM) shall
be written down in the YES2 CoE MoM template and these MoM will
be provided to Delta-Utec SRC the next day by email. In case
of little activity at the CoE (e.g. exam period) the meeting
may be postponed. This will also be notified to Delta-Utec SRC
the next day. For each YES2 review at ESA it will be assessed
whether a representative of the CoE can be invited.
4.5 Student resources
It is the shared responsibility of Delta-Utec SRC and the Center
of Expertise to have available enough students to perform the
assigned tasks of the Centers of Expertise. The CoE is expected
to actively promote the YES2 project to the students at their
university. Delta-Utec SRC will contribute by actively promoting
the YES2 project at the other participating YES2 universities
which have been involved since phase I. If a problem is foreseen,
this will be communicated at an earliest stage to Delta-Utec
SRC.
5 Communication
Good communication between the different CoE's and Delta-Utec
SRC is vital for a coordinated development of the YES2 project.
Especially with the educational character and the wide distribution
of Centers of Expertise throughout Europe and Russia, it will
be vital to have open and easily accessible communication lines
to keep everybody informed and to maintain a 'history' of all
communication regarding YES2 design issues. Delta-Utec should
be perceived as easily reachable and accessible in case of any
perceived problems and/or technical questions related to the
YES2 mission design.
5.1 Formal communication
Formal communication, e.g. to make design decisions, should
be made either by email, or telephone after which Minutes of
the telephone call shall be sent by email to Delta-Utec SRC.
A Request for Spenditure will always be made via email using
the Request for Spenditure template document.
5.2 Informal communication
Informal communication will be performed via telephone, email
and chat software (e.g. MSN messenger). An Internet based groupware
tool (e.g. e-project, PHProject) will be implemented where all
group correspondence should take place and an up to date email
list will always be available. The tool will also allow scheduling
tasks, keeping a calendar, leaving notes etc. A separate chat
tool can be used to have direct correspondence for questions
to Delta-Utec system engineers and management. Specific chat
sessions involving different team members will be scheduled
by Delta-Utec SRC (e.g. Tuesday morning). A secure YES2 FTP
server will be used by all team members for storing (working)
documents, officially released YES2 documentation etc.
5.3 External communication
5.3.1 YES2 website
External communication, both to ESA and to the public, will
be centralized at Delta-Utec. An official YES2 website is already
available on the web and will be further expanded through the
course of phase II development. The Centers of Expertise are
invited to provide inputs for this website.
5.3.2 YES2 Newsletter
The Centers of Expertise shall provide monthly input for YES2
newsletters. These newsletters are distributed internally and
via the YES2 website. Special YES2 newsletters can be dedicated
to a specific CoE, YES2 event etc.
5.3.3 Public Relations material
5.3.3.1 YES2 Brochure
Delta-Utec SRC will prepare a glossy YES2 brochure on the YES2
project to be released after PDR. This brochure will contain
a description of the YES2 project, and will explain the role
of each Center of Expertise in the project. About 1000 glossy
brochures will be printed by ESA and each Center of Expertise
will be provided on request up to 100 copies.
5.3.3.2 Other
Other PR materials (posters etc.) that can be used by the Centers
of Expertise for their YES2 room or other YES2 related activities
will be developed by Delta-Utec during phase II. The Centers
are also invited to develop their own material (shall be coordinated
with Delta-Utec).
5.3.4 Other suggestions
The Centers of Expertise are invited to provide input on other
means to improve the communication effort of the YES2 project.
6 Intellectual Properties
The University will maintain the intellectual properties on
designs and inventions made during the YES2 project. Delta-Utec
SRC and ESA will be given permission to use technologies resulting
from YES2 for future educational projects.
7 Documentation
ESA/Delta-Utec will provide an FTP server on which all YES2
documents can be placed. For each Center of Expertise there
will be a directory available for draft documents. Released
documents will be placed in the appropriate structure. Part
of this FTP server will be available via the World Wide Web.
7.1 Outgoing
The CoE is requested to provide finished YES2 documentation
according to the YES2 standards. The YES2 document list will
be provided to each CoE and will be downloadable from the YES2
FTP site. Students working on YES2 for their master thesis will
be notified about the YES2 documentation they are expected to
deliver at the end of their working period. Their results shall
be provided in the form of YES2 documentation such as Technical
Notes etc.
7.2 Incoming
At the CoE there need to be printed copies of the applicable
ECSS documentation and of the released YES2 documentation as
flagged in the YES2 document list.
8 Agreement
It is intended to make an initial agreement between Delta-Utec
SRC and each Center of Expertise (January 2004). On longer term
(evaluation in 1 year) it is the intention of ESA to also formalize
an agreement between the ESA education office and each center.
In order to move forward a Letter of Intention of each CoE is
requested before the Preliminary Design Review of December 10th.
In the Letter of Intention the CoE are kindly requested to comment
on listing their expected difficulties in implementation of
the CoE, so that we can take this into account in the preparation
of the agreement.
9 Example Letter of Intention
To: Erik J van der Heide Delta-Utec SRC
Cc: Philippe Willekens ESA education office
Dear Mr van der Heide
I have read the YES2 Center of Expertise description and I would
like to state with this letter that Delta-Utec has the intention
to formalize an agreement so that we become a YES2 Center of
Expertise.
My concern in formalizing the agreement lies in the Intellectual
Property Definition ....
I see practical problems in the implementation for ....
However I see no obstacles for setting up the Center of Expertise
in January and finding an agreement taking into account my concerns
addressed above.
I am authorized for my organization to sign this Letter of Intend
and I look forward to work out in more detail the agreement
for this remarkable initiative.
Yours truly,
Michiel Kruijff
Technical Director Delta-Utec SRC
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