StudyQA — Master: Satellite Communications Engineering

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Description Contents Requirements

Surreys satellite and space technology programmes are renowned internationally and our graduates are highly regarded.

The Satellite Communications Engineering programme provides you with the skills and knowledge to enter the satellite business or to continue on with research.

The programme is designed to give you the specialist multidisciplinary knowledge and skills required for careers based on working in the satellite and space industries and their applications.

It will therefore make you very attractive to the relevant space-related industries that employ over 6,500 people in the UK alone.

Programme overview
Surrey is at the forefront of satellite communications research and training. This MSc is unique in Europe in equipping students with the necessary background to enter the satellite industry or to continue on to a research degree.

We have a unique concentration of academic staff experienced in the satellite area, as well as developed contacts with all the major satellite manufacturers, operators and service providers. Industry participates in the MSc programme in both lecturing and projects, and facilitates excellent engagement for our students.

Our own spin-out company, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, is situated close by on the Surrey Research Park and provides ready access to satellite production and industrial facilities. In addition, we have a strategic relationship with EADS Astrium Europe-wide and several other major communications companies. Graduates from this MSc are to be found in key positions in the satellite industry (Inmarsat, Astrium, SSTL, SES, Eutelsat etc) and continue to be much in demand.

Project
The project is a major part of the programme. It is designed to enable you to demonstrate your skills and ability to solve real-life problems, while gaining more detailed knowledge of a particular topic. It can be theoretical, simulation-based or experimental. In all cases, you are expected to show innovation and an ability to come up with your own solutions.

Projects can either be carried out within a research group or, when the project is based on a practical problem suggested by industry, at the partner organisations premises. Participants have worked with INMARSAT, Logica, BT, Astrium, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and a number of small local companies.

Teaching and assessment
Taught Masters programmes in the Department of Electronic Engineering combine world-leading staff with state-of-the-art facilities. We provide a range of learning experiences lectures, tutorials, directed study, practical laboratories and project work which will prepare you for your professional life. The academic staff who teach on this programme are all research-active, and the specialist space modules are delivered by staff recognised as world leaders in small satellite technology.

We are particularly keen to develop in all our students a broad range of generic skills to complement the core technical or scientific competencies of their chosen subject area. Our modular programme format, coupled with the increasing use of innovative teaching and learning strategies such as e-learning and industrially focused short courses, provides a flexible study environment whilst maintaining academic rigour and quality.

All modules are assessed by a combination of formal written examinations, taken at the end of each semester, and coursework assignments. For example, in the Satellite Communications A module, satellite systems design work, incorporating link budgets, is assessed as 40 per cent of the overall module work. Satellite Communications B assignment involves practical measurements on state of the art satellite terminal equipment.

You will be assigned a personal tutor who will help you to monitor your progress. Very often this tutor will also be your project supervisor, who will guide you through your project work.

Facilities, equipment and support
Through consistent investment, we have built up an impressive infrastructure to support our students and researchers.

The University of Surrey hosts the Surrey Space Centre a unique facility comprising academics and engineers from our own spin-out company, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Our Mission Control Centre was designed and developed by students to support international CubeSat operations as part of the GENSO network, and it also supports the development of the Universitys own educational satellites.

Our teaching laboratories provide hands-on experience of satellite design and construction through the use of EyasSAT nano-satellite kits. They also house meteorological satellite receiving stations for the live reception of satellite weather images.

Elsewhere, our fully equipped RF lab has network analyser, signal and satellite link simulators. The Rohde and Schwartz Satellite Networking Laboratory includes DVBS2-RCS generation and measurement equipment, and roof-mounted antennas to communicating live with satellites. A security test-bed also exists for satellite security evaluation. We have a full range of software support for assignments and project work, including Matlab, and you will be able to access system simulators already built in-house.

Satellite Communications Engineering students can also make use of SatNEX, a European Network of Excellence in satellite communications supported by ESA; a satellite platform exists to link the 22 partners around Europe. This is used for virtual meetings and to participate in lectures and seminars delivered by partners.

Our MSc programmes are made up of eight taught modules. Each module is worth 15 credits. A project, worth 60 credits, runs over the year. This brings the total to 180 credits for the programme.

Your project is chosen in Semester 1 and work on it begins in Semester 2 on a part-time basis. Over the summer (project) period you will be working on your project on a full-time basis, with final report and a viva voce assessment conducted at the end of the academic year.

Compulsory Modules
Satellite Communications A
This module covers the basics of satellite communication systems and provides the student with the knowledge to design a complete system. It covers earth stations, satellite types, regulation of the spectrum and interference, the propagation channel, air interfaces, and fixed and mobile applications. A feature of the module is coverage of the satellite business, major players, financial and business planning. A key element of the module is the assignment which is a real system design which replicates what has to be done in the industry.

Spacecraft Systems Design
This module covers the basics of the space environment and spacecraft design. It includes orbit dynamics, power production and conditioning, thermal design, attitude and orbit control, launching and launchers. Detailed system design for communications, earth observation payloads and mission analysis are covered in the module.

Satellite Communications B
This is a more advanced communications module building on Satellite Communications A and giving state-of-the-art aspects of air interface (modulation/coding) and inclusion in DVB and ETSI standards; satellite broadcasting to fixed and mobile terminals; broadband access and vsats; non-geostationary constellations and operations with mobile terminals; networking issues of IP over satellite and security; radio resource management and MAC; advanced payload design including multibeam antennas and on-board processing, as well as inter satellite links. This module contains a practical laboratory assignment where students make measurements on real systems.

Spacecraft Bus Subsystems
This module covers the principles, technology and operation of a spacecrafts key bus, or platform, systems and how the space and mission environments constrain these. These bus systems include the craft's power system, thermal control system, communications and data handling system, and its mechanical and propulsion systems.

General Optional Modules
Students can select from a list of fundamental discipline-based options, either to fill in gaps in their undergraduate knowledge or to get a deeper understanding of a discipline. Areas covered are: Antennas and Propagation; Digital Communications; Mathematics of Signal Processing; Packet and Telecommunications Networks; and RF Systems and Circuits. These modules are aimed at a basic theoretical understanding rather than practice.

Specific Optional Modules
These specific optional modules allow the student to customise the MSc to their personal interests or orientate to a particular job market. Thus a communications route would take Data and Internet Networking and Network and Service Management and Control to incorporate satellite networks. Alternatively, if your interest is in satellite/spacecraft production and manufacturing, then modules on Advanced Guidance, Navigation and Control, Dynamics and Control of Spacecraft, Launch Vehicles and Propulsion, and Space Robotics would be preferred.

These modules are detailed and state of the art in each area.

The above gives you a wide range of possibilities for personalising an MSc that suits your individual needs.

An honours degree in electronic engineering, mathematics, computing or physical sciences. Our minimum entry level is a 2.2 from a good UK university, or overseas equivalent. Relevant industrial experience will also be considered.English language requirementsIELTS minimum overall: 6.5IELTS minimum by component: 6.0We offer intensive English language pre-sessional courses, designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.