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EPFLx: EE585x Space Mission Design and Operations

Course Team

The Lecturer: Claude Nicollier

Claude Nicollier

Claude Nicollier was a member of the first group of ESA astronauts selected in 1978. He joined Group 9 of NASA astronauts in 1980 for Space Shuttle training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, where he was stationed until September 2005. From 1996 to 1998, he was Head of the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch. From 2000 on, he was a member of the Astronaut Office Extravehicular Activity Branch, while maintaining a position as Lead ESA astronaut in Houston.

Claude retired from ESA in 2007, and is currently Honorary Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), where he teaches a course on Space Mission Design and Operations, and provides assistance to students on space-related projects. He is also involved in the Solar Impulse solar-powered aircraft as Head of Flight Test and Head of the Safety Review Board.

Spaceflight experience

Claude was a crewmember on four Space Shuttle flights: STS-46 in 1992 (Eureca deployment and first test of a Tethered Satellite System), STS-61 in 1993 (first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope), STS-75 in 1996 (second flight of Tethered Satellite System, and microgravity investigations), and STS-103 in 1999 (third Hubble servicing mission ). He logged more than 1000 hours in space, including a spacewalk lasting more than eight hours to install new equipment on Hubble during STS-103.

Areas of Expertise:

Astrophysics, Space, Aviation

Teaching assistants:

Lise-Loup Antoniadis

Lise-Loup Antoniadis

Lise-Loup Antoniadis is National Affairs Coordinator at the Swiss Space Center, EPFL since 2014. She has receive her Master degree in Engineering from Grenoble Institute of Technology, France. She previously work at the Secretariat of the International Astronautical Federation. She is responsible of the MOOC coordination and social medias.

Julien Jaquet

Julien Jaquet

Julien Jaquet is Master student in mechanical engineering with a specialization in aero- and hydrodynamics at EPFL. He is also doing a Minor in Space technologies at EPFL, where he improved a test setup of a Helmholtz cage and a spherical air bearing for pico and nano satellites (CubETH). Julien created the slides for the course and supported the recording sessions.

Thibault Kuntzer

Thibault Kuntzer

Thibault Kuntzer is a PhD student in cosmology at EPFL. He is interested in data analysis and preparation of the next large ESA mission: the Euclid satellite, devoted to the study of cosmological parameters. He is also part of the engineering team for the ESA small class CHEOPS satellite that will characterize exoplanets. He obtained his Master in Physics and Minor in Space Technologies in 2013 from EPFL. He is one of the teaching assistant and prepared the exercises for the MOOC.

Christophe Paccolat

Christophe Paccolat

Christophe Paccolat is a PhD Student at Swiss Space Center and Signal Processing Laboratory, working on Non-cooperative motion determination for space robotics missions. He received his Master degree from EPFL in 2012 and worked at the Swiss Space Center as Space Engineer for one year before starting his PhD in 2013. He is one of the teaching assistant and prepared the exercises for the MOOC.

Camille Pirat

Camille Pirat

Camille Pirat is a PhD student at Swiss Space Center. He received his Master of Science in Physics from EPFL in 2013. Since, he has been working at the Swiss Space Center as a System and Mission Engineer before starting his PhD in 2014 on Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking for CubeSats. He is one of the teaching assistant and prepared the exercises for the MOOC.

ADMINISTRATION:

Volker Gass

Volker Gass is Director of the Swiss Space Center, EPFL since 2011 and Adjunct Professor at EPFL, School of Engineering. He previously worked at RUAG Space Switzerland. He received his master degree in microtechnology from EPFL in 1988 and his PhD from University of Neuchâtel in 1994. Through the Swiss Space Center, he promotes and develops space activities by involving Swiss education, science and industries.

EPFL MOOC Production:

A huge thank-you to the EPFL MOOC production team who supported us for the recordings and editing of videos, implementation of the edX platform and who gave us very good advice and especially to:

  • Gwénaël Bosquet, Video coordinator
  • Matthew Goodman, Video editor
  • Patrick Jermann, Executive director
  • Gilles Raimond, Media engineer
  • Eloge Seri, Interactive media designer
  • Christian Vonarburg, Course developer