Por Karen Krynen

Rosemead, CA – Chris Hansen is Head of Mechanical Engineering at Radiant, a start-up with a long-term goal of making nuclear power portable and accessible anywhere. Currently in pre-application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for their portable microreactor, Kaleidos, Radiant is partnered with the Department of Energy and Idaho National Labs to test a fueled prototype version of Kaleidos in 2026. 

Prior to joining Radiant, Chris spent more than 18 years at SpaceX where he served the majority of his tenure as Director of Development Testing. For the first few years, Chris was the responsible engineer (RE) for separation systems on the Falcon launch vehicles. With separation systems being one of the main points of failures historically for rockets, Elon Musk tasked Chris to test his systems extensively to ensure high reliability. Over time, Chris built up a team of 50 engineers and technicians to perform testing of all structures and mechanisms that were in development by SpaceX for Falcon, Dragon, Starlink, and Starship. 

The path towards engineering and manufacturing for Chris began at an early age. His father, Dr. Ralph Hansen, was a dentist, but was always very handy around the house and his practice, fixing equipment and remodeling his dental office. It was working with his father where Chris learned that he loved to build and work on hardware. Chris saw Bosco Tech’s technology program as an opportunity to learn more hardware-related skills, and it was during his freshman year rotation through Manufacturing Technology when he fell in love with manufacturing. His experience at Bosco Tech led him to continue his studies at the University of Southern California where he earned both a bachelors and masters in Mechanical Engineering. 

Chris, his wife, and daughter reside in Palos Verdes Estates. The couple recently established a scholarship endowment at the Tech. In their downtime, the family enjoys traveling, visiting Disneyland, and watching their daughter dance ballet.