Six Capitol Technology University astronautical engineering students were selected for a multi-year internship with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) mission. Students Edward Zhou, Alexander Simonetti, Nathan Kinsey, Philip Alsop, Owen Coffee, and Carrington Hilliard have started their first year of this rare opportunity.
NOAA operates the nation's weather satellite system that includes JPSS, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), and Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) missions. Together, these missions provide the National Weather Service with a global view of systems including hurricanes, thunderstorms, and solar activity.
During their internships, each student partners with a NOAA mentor in a spacecraft subsystem (power, thermal, commanding and data handling, and payload and simulation) to develop new procedures that will be used on a new ground support system for JPSS. Our on-campus Space Flight Operations Training Center (SFOTC) played a critical role for each student in the selection process as it enabled them to exercise the same procedures and operations techniques in a simulated operations environment that they will be executing for the mission.
“I’m very proud of our students,” said Professor Marcel Mabson. “Each day, I have the opportunity to see them gain employment in the fields they have worked and studied for in our labs and classrooms. Employers know that when they hire a Capitol intern, that student is ready to support their mission-critical needs.”
Students volunteered to share details about their NOAA experience so far and how they are applying Capitol Tech-learned skills to these new opportunities. Read their interviews below.
Edward Zhou, Sophomore, Astronautical Engineering
Describe your role at NOAA. What mission are you supporting, any development, etc.?
I am currently one of six interns from Capitol supporting the JPSS team as a part of the Engineering Mission Operations Support Services (EMOSS) VI contract. I work with the Payload and Simulation teams to learn about JPSS and ground systems. I also assist in writing and testing new procedures for the JPSS constellation. I see plenty of familiar faces from Capitol, and it’s nice being able to learn from them, too.
Describe the feeling of working on weather satellites supporting the National Weather Service.
I find it quite fulfilling. Though I’m still getting used to it, I find it to be a very worthwhile addition to my semester. Everyone checks the weather every day, but it’s kind of cool to know just where the data comes from and how it’s collected. I often hear about the context behind many missions in spaceflight, but getting to work on one is pretty cool.
How did you learn about the internship? How did Capitol Tech’s astronautical engineering program prepare you for your current position?
I learned about the internship through my professors, specifically Professor Volosin and Professor Mabson. I was initially hesitant to apply since I wasn’t yet a junior or senior, but I certainly don’t regret applying.
I certainly do see a lot of familiar concepts while I work. The knowledge I gained from my Ground Systems Engineering class and the SFOTC at Capitol is especially useful since I now deal with ground systems and spacecraft simulators almost every day at work. The Spacecraft Systems class was helpful for understanding how all the flight systems on the spacecraft work together to accomplish the mission.
The instruments on the spacecraft operate on principles that I’m learning about right now in Remote Sensing class, which are especially relevant because I’m learning about the payloads. For example, one of the instruments onboard is the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). Just last class I was learning from Professor Volosin about how atmospheric sounding works and how we can learn about the different layers of the atmosphere using sounding.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
Some days I work remotely, but most days I work in-person. After I scan in, I usually say hello to everyone and check in with my team leaders, then attend the daily tag-up meeting. Some days I will train with the Payload team, and others I will train with the Sim team, and other days there are special trainings or other events.
When I train with the Payload team, I’m tasked with learning about the instruments and reading up on what the procs do and what the syntax is like. When I train with the Simulator team, I’m tasked with learning how to set up and configure satellite simulators, a lot like what I did at Capitol’s SFOTC. Sometimes there are special events like maneuver days, and everyone gathers in the ops room and all of us watch over the shoulders of the satellite controllers and team leaders.
How will working at NOAA during the internship help in your future career goals?
I think NOAA is a good place to be for me. While my career goal is more aligned with flight operations or “being on console,” and less focused on the “support services” part, I still think it’s a valuable experience. I’m learning a lot about how work is done in the industry, and I’ve come to know many knowledgeable people I can ask for help and advice. Plus, NOAA operates weather satellites critical to forecasting, and I would be more than happy to take a job supporting them.
Any advice you would give to a student who is interested in mission operations?
Spend a lot of time doing what you want to do for a career. I spent so many hours in the SFOTC that I practically lived there, but it really did come in handy for the internship. I even saw some of the same simulator software being used for the JPSS simulator that we use in the SFOTC.
Carrington Hilliard, Senior, Astronautical Engineering
Describe your role at NOAA. What mission are you supporting, any development, etc.?
I am working on JPSS, helping with the transition of ground systems for the CDH/Comm/FSW subsystem.
Describe the feeling of working on weather satellites supporting the National Weather Service.
Working on weather satellites, I have learned more about how the science data collected by the spacecraft is used by various groups.
How did you learn about the internship? How did Capitol Tech’s astronautical engineering program prepare you for your current position?
I learned about the internship through Professor Volosin and Professor Mabson. The astronautical engineering program at Capitol helped me understand how ground stations communicate with spacecraft.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
A typical day at NOAA includes attending meetings with all of the different subsystems and working with my subsystem to understand what the new ground system will need to do.
How will working at NOAA during the internship help in your future career goals?
Working at NOAA will help me develop the systems engineering skills that will be useful working on other missions in the future.
Any advice you would give to a student who is interested in mission operations?
I would suggest learning about how all subsystems interact with and influence each other.
Owen Coffee, Junior, Astronautical Engineering
Describe your roles at NOAA. What mission are you supporting, any development, etc.?
I am supporting the EMOSS VI contract as a Satellite Engineering Intern with ASRC Federal. I am currently working on the JPSS constellation of weather satellites in the ADCS subsystem and I am also working to support the transition of ground stations from CGS to OS/COMET.
Describe the feeling of working on weather satellites supporting the National Weather Service.
It is very fulfilling to know that my everyday work has a direct impact on the quality of life and safety of Americans that rely on accurate weather reports and predictions.
How did you learn about the internship? How did Capitol Tech’s astronautical engineering program prepare you for your current position?
I learned about the internship through Professor Mabson in my Autonomous Ground Systems class. I feel that all of my courses thus far, as well as projects, have helped me to build a good foundation and engineering intuitions to face problems as they come.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
A typical day is meeting with my subsystem leaders to train and familiarize myself with all of the components and tasks required to maintain the satellites. The rest of the day is mostly spent reviewing documents and preparing for OS/COMET transitions.
How will working at NOAA during the internship help in your future career goals?
I think that it will help my future by giving me invaluable experience in a real-life operations scenario. I get to see all of the real problems that current operators and engineers face that will lead me to becoming a better engineer in the future.
Any advice you would give to a student who is interested in mission operations?
Get comfortable with both reading telemetry pages and knowing basic components of the satellite. Working internships is a great way to gain real world hands-on experience because, from what I've experienced so far, operations engineers are constantly learning on the job as new problems arise.
Nathan Kinsey, Senior, Astronautical Engineering
Describe your roles at NOAA. What mission are you supporting, any development, etc.?
I am working on ground system transition on the JPSS satellites NPP, J1, and J2, specifically in payloads.
Describe the feeling of working on weather satellites supporting the National Weather Service.
It is a very interesting job to be able to work with real-life satellites as my first professional job in my career field. To be able to see the work done on a real mission allows me to understand and apply the knowledge being learned in my degree as I can absorb more in-depth details on the subjects I am working on in the real world.
How did you learn about the internship? How did Capitol Tech’s astronautical engineering program prepare you for your current position?
I learned about this intern opportunity from Andew DiPietro, an alumnus from Capitol Tech, who asked if I might be interested in working on a program with ASRC Federal. He filled me in on some of the information about the position and I was immediately interested. The courses within my degree did a great job with introducing the concepts of subsystem design, remote sensing (which I’m currently taking), and introducing the SFOTC design nature of telemetry pages and commanding. The SFOTC at Capitol implements a lot of similar designs as NOAA, while also using the same operating system.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
The day starts by driving down to the NSOF building in Suitland, MD. Once at work, looking over satellite subsystem documents, and trying to learn the new ground system (OS/COMET), while waiting for access to accounts. There is at least one daily team meeting and a tag-up with your specified subsystem to talk about any updates and tasks for the week. As we move along in getting accounts, it will contain much more ground system work as we work with our subsystem to find out how to design new display pages and convert existing procedures to the new format. Plus, lunch is fun because you get to socialize with team members you may or may not be working with from the building.
How will working at NOAA during the internship help in your future career goals?
This internship directly pertains to my degree. I can confirm this as much of the information taught in my courses can pertain to the internship so far giving a basic concept of the ground system, as well as the design of a spacecraft. The experience from this internship can be transferred over to others and not just the satellites I am working with now. I hope to move forward with working with spacecraft of some kind wherever I end up going, so all the knowledge I can absorb from my position now will benefit my future.
Any advice you would give to a student who is interested in mission operations?
To any student that is interested in space operations, working with the SFOTC is the best way to go about it. You get to understand the structure of a ground system by making procedures and scheduling ATS’s which are all realistic to real world missions. You also get to visually see what is happening with the spacecraft when these procedures are carried out. This can range from telemetry to electronics and instrument modes. The fundamentals of space operations can be learned by paying attention to and maintaining interest in an environment such as the SFOTC as it has many attributes to offer students with an interest in the field.