India’s Private Space Sector Reaches New Heights as Astrobase Unveils First FFSC Rocket Engine ‘EVEREST’

India’s private space industry has achieved a landmark breakthrough, propelling the nation into an elite global circle of spacefaring entities capable of developing advanced Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) rocket engines. Bengaluru-based startup Astrobase Space Technologies officially unveiled EVEREST on Friday, an 800 kilonewton (80-tonne) class engine designed to power the next generation of reusable medium-lift launch vehicles.  

This milestone signifies a major strategic shift for India's commercial space ecosystem, transitioning from light satellite launchers toward high-thrust propulsion systems built for orbital reusability.

Understanding the Architecture: What Makes EVEREST Unique?

EVEREST is a liquid-propellant engine that runs on a combination of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane, commonly referred to as methalox. Aerospace engineers favor methalox for reusable systems because methane burns cleaner than traditional kerosene, leaving minimal soot buildup and significantly reducing refurbishment downtime between flights.  

The engine delivers approximately 800 kN of vacuum thrust, a specific impulse of roughly 340 seconds, and a flexible throttling capability ranging from 50 percent to 110 percent. Precise thrust modulation is critical for reusable rockets, enabling controlled deceleration during reentry and pinpoint landing maneuvers.  

Why Full-Flow Staged Combustion Matters

Full-Flow Staged Combustion is widely regarded as one of the most complex and demanding engine architectures in rocketry. Unlike standard engines, an FFSC cycle routes both the fuel and oxidizer through separate pre-burners to fully gasify them before they enter the main combustion chamber.

By ensuring complete propellant combustion, the architecture yields maximum thermodynamic efficiency while lowering operating temperatures and thermal stress inside key turbomachinery. Because managing extreme pressures and reactive gases requires state-of-the-art materials and precision design, only a tiny fraction of space programs globally have ever attempted FFSC propulsion.

Highlighting the engineering value of this cycle, Astrobase CEO Neeraj Khandelwal described the technology as "one of the most advanced approaches to rocket propulsion because even relatively modest efficiency improvements can translate into increased payload capability."

Development Roadmap and Testing Milestones

While Friday’s unveiling marks a major design milestone, EVEREST is moving through a structured qualification program before heading to orbit.  Astrobase has already completed sub-scale hot-fire tests in 2025 and finished high-speed turbopump evaluations in early 2026. The company operates a dedicated propulsion testing facility in Andhra Pradesh, where full-scale ground hot-fire trials are scheduled to begin in the coming months.  

To prepare EVEREST for flight, Astrobase plans to conduct extensive ground firings, qualification testing, and full stage integration. The company aims to test approximately 20 engines before attempting its first orbital launch. The core timeline targets a maiden orbital flight by December 2028, with commercial operations slated to follow shortly after.  

Indigenous Manufacturing with Global Ambitions

Astrobase was founded in 2024 by former ISRO propulsion engineer Devakumar ThammiSetty and entrepreneur Neeraj Khandelwal. The startup’s rapid progress is backed by institutional support, including selection under IN-SPACe’s Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) to accelerate indigenous LOX-methane engine development.

More than 70 percent of EVEREST is designed and manufactured domestically at Astrobase’s Bengaluru facilities. Overseas procurement remains strictly limited to specialized hardware, such as advanced sensors, that are not yet available within the local supply chain.  

Looking further ahead, Astrobase intends to power its partially reusable launch vehicle using a cluster of seven EVEREST engines. The long-term goal is to build an end-to-end launch service, spanning engine fabrication, testing, and flight operations, to establish an initial annual capacity of 100 tonnes to orbit, with scaling potential beyond 1,000 tonnes per year.

By developing high-performance propulsion locally, Astrobase aims to position India as a key international launch hub, expanding access in a global market currently constrained by limited launch availability.  

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