Illustration by someone who understands the physics.
I'm Leonel Palacios — PhD in aerospace engineering and industrial designer, with mission-validated work on NASA's Starshade and ESA's PROBA-3. I turn orbital mechanics, relativity, and spaceflight into clear, designed images that are correct as well as beautiful. Every piece is built on primary sources and, where relevant, real numerical simulation.
Two disciplines, one image
I hold a Bachelor's in Industrial Design, a degree in Engineering Physics, and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, plus a decade in spacecraft guidance, navigation and control. I draw what I've actually worked on.
That means the diagram is not just attractive — the geometry, the trajectory, the physics are right. For an editor, a researcher, or a grant reviewer, that difference is everything.
The style
Clean geometry and simple forms, a deliberate 3–5 colour palette, bold typography, and flat composition drawn from 1930s–60s science posters — Bauhaus structure, WPA boldness, Space-Race optimism.
Side projects where I explore a single idea in code rather than a finished illustration. Interactive, built to be played with, and usually about how an image works rather than what it depicts.
