Megan Owen
Megan Owen began her career at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, where she worked with the families of fallen astronauts. She moved on to the Space Foundation, where she worked in the Strategic and International Affairs department and participated in organizing the annual Space Symposium. Megan joined NASA’s White Sands Complex through Peraton in 2018 as a Project Schedule and Project Controls Analyst before advancing to Junior Systems Engineer. In this role, she supported NASA’s TDRS satellites and their ground stations while also beginning her Master’s degree in Systems Engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso. Megan went on to become a Department of Defense contractor through Boeing, where she took on mission planning, vehicle control and operations responsibilities as a Space Systems Engineer. She was quickly promoted to the role of Systems Engineering and Technical Advisor (SETA) to customers. As a SETA, she completed the preparation work, launch rehearsals and the launch itself for the NROL-107 program, while taking on night and weekend shifts to allow her co-workers breaks to support their family lives.
Megan joined Stellar Solutions as a Space Vehicle Systems Engineer in 2022, where she provides technical insight for the integration of mission systems into the operational baseline. Her responsibilities include reviewing CONOPS, Interface Control Documents, test plans and schedules, evaluating proposed system changes, analyzing user needs, providing technical support to the government and developing assets and briefings for a variety of audiences. Megan completed her senior capstone project for her Master’s degree in 2024 in spite of numerous challenges in her professional and personal life, including her husband’s deployment for the U.S. Army, personal health issues, pet health issues, and multiple setbacks for schedule and performance on her work projects. In spite of these challenges, she also managed to meet all deadlines and obligations for her projects, managing a multitude of complex problems with grace and positivity.
Outside of working hours, Megan traveled to Guadalajara in 2016 with the Space Generation Advisory Council as part of the International Astronautical Congress to discuss international space policy for the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space. She is a vocal advocate for women in STEM and is regularly booked to be a motivational and keynote speaker for student groups across America. Megan has also held multiple international pageant titles, including being a Miss Congeniality, and she uses her pageant platform to encourage women and young minds to pursue careers in STEM.
