Programme
Space Data, Operations and Archiving
The SDOA programme is responsible for the design, development and operation of data handling systems used by space science missions. The programme works across the full activity lifecycle from customer requirements elicitation to system design, implementation, operation and ultimately to long-term curation of the important results from space science missions.
Artist’s impression of Salsa re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: ESA/David Ducross
Programme Aims
The programme aims to work with customers to develop bespoke, standards-based, data processing systems for space science missions. These include near real time systems for mission and instrument performance monitoring together with more complex science processing pipelines and data presentations suitable for use by the science community.
Our Work
The programme provides end‑to‑end data and operations capabilities across mission planning, system design, operations and long‑term data preservation.
System design
Using science and technical expertise to aid the initial customer requirements specification and subsequent development of a scoped system design. Recent examples have included involvement in the ESA space weather system design study.
Science mission operations planning
We work closely with science and flight‑control teams to develop instrument planning that maximises scientific return, informed by mission constraints, orbit analysis and operational science goals.
Ground processing systems
Our teams also operate high‑availability ground processors, such as the GERB instrument ground segment (GGSPS), ensuring continuous data flow to downstream users.
Long-term science data preseveration
SDOA oversees long‑term curation of mission data, developing sustainable archives such as the ESA Cluster Archive and the UK Solar System Data Centre. We support data standards, metadata structures and interoperability practices that enable multi‑mission analysis and maximise scientific value.
Cluster II spacecraft flying in formation above the Earth. Credit: ESA
Case Study Highlight
Cluster's Joint Science Operations Centre
For ESA’s four‑spacecraft Cluster mission, SDOA developed the Joint Science Operations Centre, responsible for coordinating the planning of 10 instruments aboard each spacecraft. This involved aligning operational constraints with scientific objectives, designing multi‑spacecraft configurations and ensuring that key regions and phenomena were successfully observed. JSOC exemplifies the programme’s role in enabling high‑quality science return from complex, multi‑asset missions.
