CURRICULUM VITAE

Nationality

Italian

Secondary Education

Italian “Laurea” Degree in Physics from the University of Pisa, after defense of a thesis on “Nuclear effects in muon sticking in the muon catalysed fusion” and with specific dissertations on: “Jets in galaxies”, “Algorithms for parallel computing” and “Slowing down of atomic beams by laser”

Current Employment

Thales Alenia Space Italy AOCS Engineer

Job Experiences

From year to year

Role and Description

09-1988 to 01-01-1989

CERGA (OCA) Grasse-Nice (Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur)

• Responsible of the comparison test between the Geodesy SW package developed at the Obervatoire de Grasse-Nice and the short arc based SW developed at the Pisa University.

1989 to 1998

University of Pisa, Space Mechanics Group

Fundamental Physics in Space

• Assessment study of the Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle (STEP) proposal (on request of ESA Science Directorate)

• Project and design of a mechanical passive noise attenuator in space (Pico Gravity Box - PGB -) to be used for fundamental physics experiments as well as in applied sciences (Italian Patent). Responsible of the PGB performance simulator used to predict the attenuation factor

• Modern re-make of Galileo mass dropping experiment from the leaning tower of Pisa during International STEP Symposium, Pisa, April 6-8 1993; general public addressed. Responsible of the design of the test masses release mechanical system and of the numerical prediction of ground arrival time for each chosen body

• Science Team member of “Galileo Galilei”- GG small mission project to test the Equivalence Principle in space by using a rotor maintained in supercritical rotation, following ASI selection of GG for Phase A Study. In charge of: satellite and payload thermal model, differential accelerometer, identification of all spurious perturbing effects (error budget analysis)

Laboratory test of the “GG on the Ground” (GGG) prototype: design, development and test of the a GG-type differential accelerometer (significant expertise acquired on high accuracy capacitance sensors)

Space Geodesy

• Development of ORBIT10-multiarc software package

• ORBIT10 application to the European Satellite Laser Ranging stations network to check the relative motion of these stations (with short arc method)

COGEOS European Project for the use of geostationary satellite data to determine the ellipticity of the Earth Equator

1998 to December 2010

Thales Alenia Space Italy, Turin, Division of Scientific Satellites, Optical Observation and Science Group, AOCS

Fundamental Physics in Space

• “Galileo Galilei”-GG- Phase A Study, in 1998 e 2000; Phase A2 Study in 2009-2010. Responsible of mission error budget, in charge of full scale numerical simulation of the GG space experiment for the science performance prediction; project, design and full scale numerical simulation of the GG spacecraft drag-free and whirl control systems and their impact on the experiment. The simulator has been implemented by using the Dynamics and Control Analysis Package (DCAP), a multi body dynamics tool developed by TAS-I for ESA. In late 2010 JPL has joined to the ground prototype of GG, by providing a laser gauge sensor capable to provide a better differential measurement. The new sensor has been added to the simulator in order to provide feedback wrt. Ground experiment

• Bepi Colombo Proposal: in charge of the mission simulator, implemented by using DCAP, with the objective of generating representative on board measurements, in order to establish the upper limit of the science performance of the mission

• Quantum Communication in Space: proposal for one ESA ITT on that subject (study about quantum key distribution), with the development of an integrated team with the Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale "Galileo Ferraris" (IEN), currently Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM), which is still operating with funds provided by Regione Piemonte. In charge for the analysis of benefits and drawbacks of the space environment for quantum communication experiments in three different configurations (ground-to-space, space-to-ground and space-to-space)

• Premier (Process Exploration through Measurements of Infrared and millimetre-wave Emitted Radiation): responsible of the Observing System Simulator (OSS) during the ESA Phase A Study of the PREMIER Earth Explorer Core Mission. The OSS is in charge of generating the InfraRed Limb Sounder & Cloud Imager measurements

Earth Observation Satellites

• GOCE (“Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer”), core mission of ESA (launch date September 2008; Thales Alenia Space Prime Contractor, satellite still flying): responsible of the high fidelity model of the GOCE Electrostatic Gradiometer (EGG) for the generation of representative DFAC and Science measurements within the End to End GOCE simulator developed in Thales Italy. The accelerometer and gradioemeter models have been implemented by using Matlab/Simulink and a C library has been generated by using the Real Time Workshop to export the Matlab/Simulink model. Responsible of the implementation and testing of the 2 calibration algorithms foreseen for the EGG by using the E2E simulator. Responsible of the Level 0 to Level 1B procedure, i.e. the process of transforming raw measurements data into gravity gradient tensor components: the implemented algorithm has been used by ESA as prototype for the GOCE Mission Ground Segment SW, currently hosted in ESRIN (ESA site in Frascati). Responsible of the Science Performance check, i.e. of the procedure in charge of generating the Power Spectral Density of the Gravity Gradient Tensor, taking into account the calibrated gradiometer measurements and the Star Tracker quaternion measurements.

• Laser Doppler Interferometer (later on Next Generation Gravity Mission), ESA study for a space mission having the objective of measuring the Earth gravitational field with high accuracy during a quite long time span (510 years): responsible of the mission definition and of the numerical simulation that are required in order to support the definition of the metrological (optical) system

Laboratory tests

• AEVI (“Active Equipment for Vibration Isolation”): project, design and development of a test-bed laboratory simulator within ESA TPR study for the ground demonstration of the microgravity disturbance rejection. Responsible of the development of the AEVI ground and space simulators implemented by using DCAP. Responsible of the tests carried out to verify the AEVI predicted performance in laboratory (the test bed had the objective of validating the space simulator)

• GOCE: responsible of the gradiometer thermo-vacuum tests carried out in ESA (ESTEC) and, after launch, of the flight tests carried out in order to characterise the noise level in the gradiometer measurements and to verify the two foreseen calibration methods devised for the instrument. Calibration methods performed as expected. Responsible of the in-flight science performance tests during first year of mission

01-01-2011 to date

Thales Alenia Space Italy, Rome, Observation Systems & Radars Unit, Space Segment System, AOCS

Earth Observation Satellites

Responsible of requirements specification, of tests (SW and HW) and of procurement of the GPS Receiver units for Sentinel 1A/1B and COSMO Second Generation

Differential GNSS: responsible of the project of a real time algorithm capable to provide baseline measurement with the accuracy of cm level by using GPSR SPS navigation solution, pseudo range and phase measurements, and the already available Precise Orbit Determination avionic SW package implemented in TAS-I Rome

Languages

Italian (mother tongue), English (fluent) and French (sufficient)

Experience with computer Operating Systems

Good knowledge and long time experience in GNU-Linux/Unix and in all Windows Operating Systems

Experience with software programs/languages

Good knowledge and long time experience in:

• DCAP (Dynamics and Control Analysis Package)

• Mathworks Matlab/Simulink andReal Time Workshop

• FSF Open Source Matlab/Simulink clones (Octave, Scilab)

• Microsoft-Office suite

• Open Source Microsoft-Office clones

• knowledge and experience in other programming languages (e.g. FORTRAN)

Publications

More than 60 publications on various scientific subjects