Mohit Sai Konaparthi

As Project Director for Razor Crest Mark-1 at Ethereal X, I work in a team that leads end-to-end development of a liquid rocket engine, combining systems engineering, propulsion design, and program execution. I along with the team oversee architecture definition, requirements flow-down, and cross-functional coordination across design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing. My role involves guiding thermo-fluid and structural analyses, regenerative cooling design, and manufacturability trade-offs, while managing technical risk and schedules. I work closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to translate performance goals into reliable, flight-ready hardware, driving rapid iteration and scalable propulsion development.

As a Senior Propulsion Engineer at EtherealX, I’m responsible for the design, analysis, and development of liquid rocket propulsion systems for the Razor Crest Mk-1 — the world’s first fully reusable medium-lift orbital launch vehicle. My work focuses on enabling high-performance, reusable, and cost-efficient propulsion through rigorous design, CFD-driven optimization, and system-level integration. I lead efforts on liquid rocket engine architecture, including injector design, chamber sizing, and nozzle contour optimization. My responsibilities extend to regenerative cooling channel design, where I perform thermal-fluid modeling and conjugate heat transfer analysis to ensure material survivability under extreme chamber wall heat fluxes and cyclic pressure loads. I perform high-fidelity CFD analyses (RANS and LES-based) to simulate injector flowfields, combustion chamber dynamics, and nozzle expansion characteristics. These simulations help in evaluating combustion efficiency, identifying acoustic coupling modes, and ensuring dynamic stability. I also contribute to aeroacoustic and combustion stability studies, applying analytical and numerical methods to mitigate high-frequency instabilities and pressure oscillations. Additionally, I work on instrumentation and test operations, including calibration of thermocouples and cryogenic pressure transducers, definition of test matrices, and data acquisition setup for hot-fire tests. Post-test data reduction and performance validation form a key part of my deliverables. To support engine reusability, I conduct fatigue and creep life analyses, thermal stress modeling, and requalification studies for critical components. I collaborate closely with structural, thermal, and controls teams to ensure integrated propulsion system reliability and maintainability. My contributions drive the development of robust, sophisticated, advanced and reusable rocket technology.

Interned at SSR as a track Inspector for 4 months and had hands-on experience with different equipment that is used during inspection.