Apprenticeship training course
Space engineering technician (level 4)
Support the development, manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing of complex, high value space hardware and ground-based equipment.
- Qualification level
-
4
Equivalent to higher national certificate (HNC). - Typical duration
- 48 months
- Apprenticeship category
- Engineering and manufacturing
- Maximum funding
-
£19,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training. - Also known as
-
- advanced manufacturing technician
- assembly
- Control and instrumentation engineering technician
- Electrical or electronic engineering technician
- Integration and test technician
- Materials and chemical engineering technician
- Quality and product assurance technician
- Satellite manufacturing
- Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering Technician
- Spacecraft propulsion engineering technician
- Skills
-
Skills an apprentice will learn
- Prepare and complete documentation including work instruction, build and change records, risk assessments and non-conformance reports in compliance with applicable space industry processes and standards.
- Contribute to technical reviews such as assembly, integration and test readiness, and non-conformance reviews.
- Assemble, integrate and test at equipment, subsystem and system level.
- Support and maintain ground support systems for spacecraft and subsystems.
- Interpret outputs from manufacturing software such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) or Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) and Product Data Management or Product Lifecycle Management (PDM, PLM).
- Solve problems using procedures and methodologies commonly applied in the space engineering sector, such as Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle, 8-Disciplines (8D), Ishikawa fishbone diagrams.
- Contribute to the definition of space engineering process improvement plans.
- Use internal and external quality management systems including Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs), production documentation, and published standards applicable to space engineering and manufacture such as EN9100, ISO9001.
- Read, extract and interpret technical documentation (such as work plans or project plans, schedules, drawings, test plans, specifications, production data, quality reports, costing data, statistical information, assembly instructions and requirements) drawing accurate conclusions and making informed decisions, seeking clarification where required.
- Perform electrical and electronic measurement and testing using equipment such as voltmeters, spectrum analysers, oscilloscopes.
- Perform appropriate joining techniques for example using adhesives, bonding, plating, soldering and fastening, following procedures for space quality standards.
- Carry out assembly and functional testing of products such as electronics boards and mechanical assemblies, to design specifications and space industry standards.
- Inspect electrical, mechanical or electronic equipment for quality assurance purposes.
- Use CAD software to create 3D models and part drawings to enable manufacture of components for spacecraft systems and ground support equipment.
- Apply space industry procedures in facilities such as cleanrooms, workshops and testing facilities (for example, ECSS-Q-ST-70-50C: Particles contamination monitoring for spacecraft systems and cleanrooms) in compliance with legislative and company health, safety and environment requirements.
- Measure, test and analyse, using instruments such as pressure gauges, micrometers, balances and non-contact approaches.
- Use and maintain vacuum and pressure systems for space applications (such as environmental test chambers, pressure-fed propulsion systems, and gas supply lines for manufacturing & testing) including associated processes and documentation such as piping and instrumentation diagrams.
- Use and maintain cryogenic systems for space applications (such as propulsion, subsystem thermal control and ground support activities) including associated processes and documentation, in compliance with legislative and company health, safety and environment requirements.
- Communicate using verbal and written methods such as for formal and informal presentations, written reports and electronic dissemination, adjusting approach to take account of equality and diversity considerations, and listen to others.
Full information on Space engineering technician (level 4) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.