Rahul Ayanampudi Email & Phone Number

Houston, Texas, United States

Axiom Space Station GNC

College Station, Texas, United States

The Texas A&M Sounding Rocketry Team (SRT) is an interdisciplinary student-run organization dedicated to developing engineering talent through the design, construction, testing, and showcasing of complex rocket systems powered by hybrid engines.Simulated flight performance with 6-DOF Monte Carlo MATLAB script for trajectory analysis and recovery. Characterized flutter speed/aeroelastic response of the rocket’s fins during flight by conceptualizing, modeling, and fabricating an adjustable testing apparatus to measure torsional rigidity. Served as Dynamics Officer during the Spaceport America Cup 2022 in Truth or Consequences, NM (SRAD, 10k, hybrid category).

College Station-Bryan Area

The Laser Diagnostics and Plasma Devices Laboratory utilizes novel laser sensing techniques and plasma-enabled devices for applications to high speed aerodynamics, combustion, propulsion remote sensing, and flow control.Contributed to Canonical Validation Experiments for Hypersonic Aerodynamics under Dr. Christopher Limbach. Developed modular optical-access port extension for the Actively Controlled Expansion (ACE) Hypersonic Wind Tunnel to elongate laser focal length and enhance data acquisition utilizing the femtosecond laser electronic excitation and tagging (FLEET) technique.Utilized hot-wire anemometry in cross flow sections of the Subscale Atmospheric Facility (SAF) to predict the effects of turbulence on laser propagation through the atmosphere. Conducting studies on thermal blooming and the effect of air contaminants in the laser path, particularly of importance for UAV defense systems.

Dallas, Texas, United States

Survivable Airborne Operations Center

Wright Patterson Air Force Base

Conducted a Reusable Propulsion Scaling Study for Hypersonic Aircraft under Dr. Logan P. Riley, Mr. Evan Burke, and Dr. José Camberos (DASH Team, High Speed Systems Division, Aerospace Systems Directorate). Executed air-breathing scramjet flowpath analysis to support the rapid conceptual design and analysis of reusable hypersonic transport. Identified effect of fuel distribution, injection angle, and heat release profile on combustor operation. Refined computational models and quasi-1D flow physics assumptions to better approximate experimental direct-connect facility ground testing.

Dayton, Ohio, United States

Performed an Aerodynamic and Propulsion Sensitivity Study on High Speed Aircraft under Dr. Logan P. Riley, Mr. Evan Burke, and Dr. José Camberos (DASH Team, High Speed Systems Division, Aerospace Systems Directorate). Generated efficient Python tool to compute principal aerodynamic quantities such as the oblique shock angles, net forces, heat fluxes, and pitching moments on the wing sections of hypersonic aircraft. Analyzed design sensitivities for given variations in vehicle geometries, viscous flow effects, and flight conditions e.g. Mach and altitude to optimize aircraft efficiency and overcome challenges related to the intense aerodynamic loads and extreme thermal heating associated with hypersonic flight.

Dayton, Ohio, United States

Worked on Octocopter Sensor Payload Development in the Sensors Directorate under Mr. Jeff Massman (Antenna and Electromagnetic Structures Team Lead). Designed, 3D-printed, and integrated a new ultralightweight sensor payload chassis onto an DJI S1000 octocopter to support software defined radio research efforts in advanced distributed coherent radars and autonomous swarming unmanned vehicle architectures. Utilized Autodesk Fusion 360 to 3D-model the payload chassis and accommodate for additional sensors and antennae enabling simultaneous signal transmit and receive. Ran topological optimizations and FEA stress simulations to reduce the chassis mass by approximately 52% while maintaining structural integrity, enabling longer flight durations and enhanced mission capabilities. Please see my senior capstone linked below for more information:

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Aerospace, Aeronautical And Astronautical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Craig and Galen Brown Foundation Scholar, Sounding Rocketry Team, American Institute of Aeronautics.

High School Diploma, Engineering, 4.0 - Valedictorian (Rank 1/420)

Activities and Societies: Darby Boy’s Varsity Soccer, National Honors Society (Vice President), Key Club (Treasurer), Class Cabinet, Math.