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Christopher Iannello

 

Biography

Christopher Iannello brings an unparalleled depth of experience in spacecraft and launch vehicle electrical and power systems, forged through 35 years of technical leadership across NASA, industry and academia. Prior to joining UCF in 2025 as a professor, he served as NASA’s longest-tenured technical fellow for electrical/power, acting as the agency’s senior-most authority on spacecraft and launch vehicle electrical systems.

Iannello has been intimately involved in the design, integration, test and flight operations of nearly every major spacecraft and launch system in the U.S. civil and commercial space sectors. His unique insight spans the full landscape of design, manufacturing, and test philosophies—from conventional NASA methodologies to the most current commercial approaches. At UCF, Iannello collaborates with other faculty to develop the best space electrical curriculum in the nation, develop critical space sector service and test capabilities at UCF, develop new collaborations to advance space exploration and student education, and collaborate with the power electronics research faculty in ECE.

Research Interests

  • Space Electrical/Power Systems
  • Power Electronics
  • Radiation Hardness of Electronics
  • High Reliability Electronics

 

Publications

  • C. Iannello – Lessons Learned on Possible Incompatibility DART with its NEXT-C Ion Engine, NASA Technical Report TI-22-01733, February 2025.
  • C. Iannello – JSC Mission Control Center (Bldg30) Backup Electrical Power Assessment, NASA Technical Report TI-23-01951, February 2025.
  • C. Iannello – Total Ionizing Dose Tolerance of Power MOSFETs used on Europa Clipper, NASA Technical Report TI-24-02015, December 5, 2024.
  • C. Iannello and R. Hodson – Technical Assessment Report: Space Launch System (SLS) Flight Termination System (FTS) Stray Voltage Anomaly, NASA Technical Report: TI-22-01738, April 20, 2023.
  • C. Iannello – ISS Battery Charge Discharge Unit Flight Anomaly Investigation Support, NASA Technical Report TI-19-01500, January 21, 2019.
  • C. Iannello – Artemis-1 Orion PCDU Latching Current Limiter, NASA Technical Report TI-22-01839, January 24, 2022.