Current work
Operational systems leadership
Leading subsystem oversight, contractor coordination, mission support products, and technical risk reduction for ISS and future commercial destinations.
About
Leon Chen, Ph.D.
I’m an aerospace engineer working at the intersection of ISS operations, commercial space destinations, Environmental Control and Life Support Systems, and model-based systems engineering.
Human spaceflight
ISS / CLDP ECLS
Space habitats
MBSE
Research
Architecture and systems design
Applying trade studies, MBSE, and decision analysis to space habitats, lunar systems, in-space vehicles, and satellite constellations.
Background
Operations to future missions
Experience spanning The Aerospace Corporation, Georgia Tech research, SpaceX, NASA/Boeing, and U.S. Air Force systems support.
What I focus on
Engineering for crewed missions
- Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS)
- ISS and Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development (CLDP) ECLS
- Human spaceflight and commercial space stations
- Space habitat and in-space vehicle design
- Model-based systems engineering and trade studies
- Satellite constellation analysis and optimization
Selected publications
Topics I write and publish on
- Enhancing Future Commercial Space Stations
- Regenerative ECLSS complexity
- Artemis III landing region evaluation
- Technology decision methodologies
Career path
Experience across operations, research, and design
The Aerospace Corporation
Overseeing technical progress and operations, coordinating contractor activities, supporting mission evaluation and issue resolution, and reducing technical, cost, and schedule risk for life support systems.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Research spanning cislunar architecture, sustainable and resilient space habitats, MBSE for lunar vehicles, and satellite constellation design. I also serve as AE Mentor in Residence.
SpaceX
Worked on Crew Dragon fire suppression, Inspiration4 and Crew-3 support, airflow and acoustics analysis, and Starship air revitalization concepts.
NASA / Boeing / U.S. Air Force support
Supported ISS ECLSS and MERLIN console operations, system trending and failure analysis, reliability work, and broader aerospace systems engineering across multiple mission environments.
Education and service
Academic and professional foundation
- Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
- Professional service
Tools and methods
Technical toolkit
Python
MATLAB
DYREQT
ANSYS
SolidWorks
MagicDraw
OpenMBEE
ModelCenter
JMP
LabVIEW
VBA
Contact
Get in touch
The best way to reach me is via email at leon_sty@hotmail.com. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.