Edward Thelen

Mechanical engineer with seventeen years of experience in space flight design, development, assembly and test. Seeking position in Aerospace Engineering.

RECENT EDUCATION

ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE

Jan 2001 to Oct 2001 Space Systems/Loral, Palo Alto, CA
Assembly Integration and Test , Senior Research and Development Engineer

Mechanical Vehicle Engineer, the Optus C1 communication satellite.

• Direct technician on daily tasks.
• Assure paperwork and records are complete and up to date.
• Communicate with Spacecraft Manager, Systems Engineers and other team-mates to provide status and receive direction for daily and weekly progress.

1999 to 2001 Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Commercial Space Systems , Sunnyvale, CA
Assembly Integration and Test, Senior Systems Test Engineer

Test Director, thermal vacuum testing

• Tested NIMIQ, LMI, KoreaSat, ACeS, GE-4, GE-7, GE-1A, NSAT-110, GE-6 and GE-8 commercial communication satellites.
• Provided feedback and modified procedures that reduced TVac cycle time by two days and cut 100 hours of technician time.
• Responsibilities of this position included organize all test activities; obtain all documents, test equipment, calibration schedules and handling fixtures, ensure that the proper personnel are assigned for test set-up and execution, and ensure completion of paperwork.
• Order parts, arrange delivery of MGSE from warehouses, and interface with multiple disciplines to prepare for test.
• Write process procedures for thermal vacuum tests.

• Tested LMI, KoreaSat, ACeS, GE-4, GE-7, NSAT-110 and GE-1A satellites.
• Direct 4 mechanical integration technicians to set up, execute and break down test.
• Interface with electrical crew and facility test engineers to coordinate test activities.
• Receive and give pass down to other shifts to maintain continuity.
• Work evening and night shifts as required.
• Write process procedures for vibro-acoustic tests.

1997 to 1998 Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Advance Technology Center , Palo Alto, CA
Solar Astrophysics Laboratory, Mechanical Engineer

Test Director, mechancal test of Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) space instrument mechanical development model for the NOAA GOES satellite.

• Wrote initial and preliminary drafts of SXI Verification Plan for flight version of instrument.
• Planned, coordinated, and executed the modal, shock, random and sine vibration, and acoustic testing on the mechanical model as well as precision metrology examination before and after these tests.

1996 to 1997 Lockheed Martin Astro Space, East Windsor, New Jersey
Intelsat VIII, Mechanical Engineer

Test Director, thermal vacuum and acoustic tests.

• Moved commercial Intelsat 802 & 804 spacecraft between East Windsor, NJ, integration facility to Valley Forge, PA, test facility and installed them into thermal vacuum test chamber.
• Installed two Intelsat 803 & 806 spacecraft into thermal vacuum test chambers and acoustic cell in East Windsor, NJ facility.

1985 to 1996 Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Advance Technology Center , Palo Alto, California
Space Sciences Laboratory, Mechanical Design Engineer

• Layout and design of International Space Station Incubator.
• Developed and tracked schedules for the completion of design, manufacture and acceptance of three different electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter designs, total of 90 filters, for Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) , supervising the assemblers and designer.
• Developed, designed and manufactured three flight electronics enclosures for GP-B.
• Developed, designed and manufactured sixteen flight detectors for the Aurora X-ray Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Spacecraft. Assembled and tested flight instrument.
• Designed and developed flight hardware and ground support equipment for spacecraft instruments including spring actuated deployable plasma probes, optical spectrometer, dust detector and electronics boxes.
• Designed and installed vacuum chamber and its hardware. Designed instrument manipulation unit for motion within vacuum chamber.

EDUCATION

• University of California at Berkeley Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
• National Management Association Supervisory and Management Skills Program

REFERENCES