Team
Jonathen LaFontaine, PE
Founder & Principal Consultant
Jonathen is an aerospace loads, dynamic environments, and structural analysis engineer whose experience spans launch vehicles, spacecraft, payloads, and test programs. His work combines technical leadership, analysis methodology, hardware design, instrumentation, and correlation with test and flight data to support design, qualification, and flight-readiness decisions.
Selected experience
SpaceX | Starship, Super Heavy, Raptor, HLS, and launch sites
Led dynamic environments work, including engine-driven, buffet, and acoustic forcing functions; vibroacoustic analysis methodology; FEM correlation with test and flight data; component shock and vibration test plans; inertial and pressure loads; and delivery of validated environments.
Crew Dragon | NASA interface
Led Dragon 2 dynamic environments, acoustic workmanship testing, vibroacoustic coupled loads support, human-factors acoustic requirements, flight data reviews, flight-readiness support, post-flight debriefs, and anomaly resolution with NASA counterparts.
Firefly | Alpha and Antares 330/MLV
Supported launch vehicle structural dynamics, qualification test procedure derivations, vibration exceedance dispositions, mounting structure redesigns, and acoustic mitigation for a stage hot-fire test stand. His work on the Antares 330/MLV development effort also included hold-down release assembly design, analysis, and testing. MLV is now known as Eclipse.
Vast Space | Haven-1
Developed methodology documentation for spectral fatigue, loads derivation, random vibration environments, load combinations, test and flight margins, FEM-based patch vibroacoustics, human-factors acoustics, benchtop acoustic characterization, and CoDR-level Wave6 SEA modeling.
Engineering approach
He connects analytical models with hardware behavior and test data to help teams resolve design and qualification questions. His work emphasizes instrumentation quality, model correlation, uncertainty, and clear, review-ready documentation.
California licensed Professional Engineer in Mechanical Engineering, License No. M42936
Education
The Ohio State University
M.S., Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, 2016
B.S., Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, cum laude, 2013
Work with Jonathen
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