Konark Chopra
Konark Chopra began his career in space and satellite as both an engineer and a leader while completing his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech. He co-founded the Orbital Launch Team at Virginia Tech, a team that grew to over 100 members and aimed to be the first amateur organization to design, build and fly a rocket to low Earth orbit. During his time at Virginia Tech, Konark took an internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he designed and developed ultra-low vacuum silicone seals for the science sampling carousel of the Perseverance Rover. These seals have since been crucial to the rover’s ability to collect and analyze Martial soil and rock samples. He also interned at SpaceX during the early days of Starlink, when only 2 demo satellites were in space. He developed a critical anode injector brazing process for the Hall thrusters used in Starlink satellites, a process that has been implemented in all currently operational Starlink satellites. After SpaceX, Konark was selected for the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship, a competitive fellowship in memory of Matthew Isakowitz to inspire the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders. Through this fellowship program, Konark was paired with SpinLaunch, where he developed a prototype for a remote balancing mechanism to correct for imbalances in center of mass for Spinlaunch's Kinetic Launch System. Konark’s last internship was at Rocket Lab, where he improved production processes and operations for Rocket Lab's Rutherford rocket engine.
Konark joined Astrobotic as a Propulsion Engineer to focus on their new mission targeting the lunar south pole and to assist in Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander program, the first commercial lunar lander to be developed and launched by a U.S. company. He quickly moved into his current position as Lead Propulsion Engineer for the Griffin Lunar Lander program, which is the largest lunar lander to be built since the NASA Apollo program and a vital component of NASA’s Artemis campaign and the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. This high-profile mission aims to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon and to prepare for future missions to Mars. Since taking on this role, Konark has been instrumental in navigating NASA customer expectations, managing 10 critical suppliers, leading long-duration vendor site visits and developing technical, schedule and budget forecasts. His efforts have resulted in sustained customer confidence and support for an additional $93 million award from NASA for upgraded testing and reliability improvements that will ensure a successful Griffin Lunar mission and customer payload delivery. Konark also played a key role in planning and initiating development test campaigns for the Griffin propulsion system and oversaw its successful execution.
Outside of work hours, Konark dedicates his time to multiple organizations both within and outside the space and satellite industry. He was involved in community service early in his life at the Fire Explorer’s Club, where he trained with professional firefighters and paramedics. Konark has volunteered at the Udvar-Hazy Center and assisted with the coordination of 6,000 participants in the International Astronautical Congress. He actively supports the Moonshot Museum, Pennsylvania’s first space museum focused on career readiness in the 21st century. Konark volunteers both virtually and in person as a mentor for high school students pursuing careers in space. His efforts are aimed particularly at inspiring people from all backgrounds to join the aerospace industry and pursue STEM education.
