Zach Turner

HALO ECLSS Hardware Lead (03/2025-06/2026)

• Coordinated engineering teams and oversaw the HALO ECLSS hardware as it progressed through and towards delivery and integration in the vehicle
• Resolved several key technical integration challenges, balancing cost and schedule impacts while maintaining technical compliance
• Mentored junior engineers on complex project integrations and technical problem solving

HALO Air Revitalization and Ventilation Lead (04/2020-03/2025)

• Coordinated teams of engineers at NG and subcontractors to develop the hardware for revitalizing the HALO atmosphere through the design, test and integration phase
• Conducted and reviewed key ECLSS performance analyses within NG and those provided by subcontractors
• Developed and maintained HALO system schematics and interface definitions between ECLSS components and other subsystems
• Developed flight crew maintenance and operational procedures, logistics planning, and test plans for HALO ARS and Ventilation hardware

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Lead – HALO (06/2019-04/2020)

• Responsible for architectural definition, design and selection of all ECLSS components of the NG HALO module. Responsibilities included managing personnel and financial resources through HALO PDR
• Systems Requirement Review (SRR) and Systems Design Review (SDR) – Developed an ECLSS component architecture, concept of operations, and requirements definition based on a combination of initial and long term Gateway operational mission scenarios, customer and derived requirements, and integration with other vehicle subsystems
• Preliminary Design Review (PDR) – managed the ECLSS team and vendors while coordinating with other vehicle subsystems to ensure the HALO vehicle supports the crew while balancing crew time (maintenance), performance and cost
• Supported the hiring process to build the NG ECLSS team, and bring the other NG/HALO teams up to speed on the nuances of habitable spacecraft relative to resupply spacecraft (Cygnus) and other satellites

ECLSS and Crew Systems Lead – NextSTEP Human Lander System (HLS) (05/2019-08/2019)

• Supported early studies for the design and development of a NG lander system, including ECLSS, EVA, and Crew Systems integration in the Ascent and Descent elements

ECLSS Lead and Systems Engineer – NextSTEP Habitation Systems (04/2016-05/2019)

• Led the transition of the limited ECLSS capability of Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft to a system capable of independent habitation, interfacing with ECLSS experts across NASA and industry, including both domestic and international vendors
• Human Test Subject participant for the joint NASA/NG day in the life evaluations of the NG Gateway habitat prototypes at JSC, including interaction with numerous subject matter experts in developing both NASA and NG prototypes for future use aboard habitable spacecraft
• Provided Astronaut training and test support for crewed evaluations of the full-scale NG mockups of two habitation elements
• Supported the design, build, integration and test of the NG habitat prototypes prior to delivery to NASA JSC, including primary responsibility for ECLSS concepts and demonstrators
• Organized and coordinated system budgets across all vehicle subsystems, including mass, power and volume

Systems Engineer - CIRAS (Commercial Infrastructure for Robotic Assembly in Space)

09/2016-05/2017

• Vehicle system level trades and development
• Electron Beam Welding. Supported the requirements development and design of a prototype spacecraft robotic Electron Beam Welding Tool for in space assembly of truss structures
• Pilot program for the development of computer-based system modeling tooling. Set the standard and training for tooling that was distributed and used within the Orbital ATK Advanced Programs Group

• Bioastronautics research project partnered with Orbital ATK (NextSTEP BAA), investigated the extensibility of the Cygnus cargo module for use as habitation modules
• Coordinated the efforts of several design teams of nearly 50 graduate students, including class and graduate project teams
• Design, analysis and construction of a space habitation module mockup that represented the earliest version of what later became the Gateway HALO module

• Developed structural and avionics drawings used to retrofit helicopters and small fixed wing aircraft
• Revised installation and maintenance manuals for kits manufactured by Paravion Technologies
• Updated weight and balance data
• Updated various documents for FAA submission and approval

• Supported Advanced Manufacturing R&D of hybrid laser arc welding and electron beam melting.
• Responsible for maintaining and setting up lab equipment, working with researchers, and processing test samples.